TEACHING

Economics and Finance - Degree Course

Economic policy 2025-26

Course Information

Lectures

Monday, h. 14:00-16:00, Room 8b; 

Wednesday, h. 14:00-16:00, Room TBA; 

Thursday, h. 14:00-16:00, Room TBA.

Lectures begin on Monday 22 September 2025

Office hours: Wednesdays h. 16:00-17:00; please email for appointments to giuseppe.ciccarone@uniroma1.it

Google Group: search Economic Policy 2025-26 (https://groups.google.com/a/uniroma1.it/g/economic.policy.25/) and follow the link to request acceptance; 

alternative (only if strictly necessary): email to economic.policy.25@uniroma1.it

Learning Objectives

The course aims to provide knowledge of the theories, models, and tools of economic policy and the ability to apply them to national and international issues.

Syllabus

State and Market

·        State and Market: The Foundations of Public Intervention

·        Evaluation Criteria: Efficiency and Equity

·        Welfare Economics

·        Market (and State) Failures

Microeconomic Market Failures

·        Causes of Monopoly (and Natural Monopoly)

·        The "Inefficiencies" of Monopoly

·        Economic Policy and Monopoly

·        Externalities

·        Public Goods

·        Informational Asymmetries and Market Incompleteness

·        The Theory of the Second Best, Merit Goods, and Equity

Macroeconomic Market Failures

·        Macroeconomic Failures

·        Theory and Practice of Economic Policy

Normative Theory of Economic Policy

·        Theoretical Foundations: Objectives, Instruments, and Models

·        The Objectives/Instruments Approach of Tinbergen, the Lucas's Critique, and Rational Expectations

·        The Phillips Curve, Expectations, and Macroeconomic Theories

Economic Policy in a Closed Economy

·        Monetary Economics

·        Money Supply

·        Monetary Policy

·        Fiscal Policy: Economic Cycle Stabilization

·        Fiscal Policy: Debt and Growth

·        Income Distribution Conflict and Incomes Policy

Economic Policy in an Open Economy

·        Fundamentals of Free Trade

·        Trade Policies

·        Exchange Rates, Interest Rates, and Arbitrage

·        The Mundell-Fleming Model (Exchange Rates and Balance  of Payments)

·        Macroeconomic Policies in an Open Economy

·        Balance of Payments Equilibrium

·        Policies for Balance of Payments Adjustment

Limits of Public Intervention

·        State Failures

Textbooks and other material

1. The textbook for the part on microeconomic policy is: Robert S. Pindyck and Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Microeconomics, Pearson, 2017, Chapters: 16, 17, 18, 19.

It is possible to purchase the ebook at: https://www.vitalsource.com/it/products/microeconomics-global-edition-robert-pindyck-v9781292213378 

2. The textbook for the part on macroeconomic policy is: Olivier Blanchard, Alessia Amighini and Francesco Giavazzi, Macroeconomics. A European Perspective, Pearson, 2021, Chapters: 22, 23, 24; parts of all the previus Chapters dealing with economic policies.

The texbook is the same as that suggested for the first-year Macroeconomic course taught by prof. Francesco Nucci. It is possible to purchase the ebook at: https://www.vitalsource.com/it/products/macroeconomics-4th-editions-pdf-ebook-olivier-blanchard-alessia-v9781292360911

3. Lecture notes will be provided for State and market, for the Theory of economic policy, and for other parts of the syllabus not covered by the textbooks.

Calendar of exam sessions

1st session

I.     30 January 2026 at 9:00 am (Room TBA)

II.    20  February 2026 at 9:00 am (Room TBA)

 2nd session

 I.        23 June 2026 at 9:00 am (Room TBA)

 II.       17 July 2026 at 9:00 am  (Room TBA)

3rd session

 11 September 2026 at 9:00 am (Room TBA)