Public System Area
Externalities, imperfect competition, and public goods supply may lead to market failures in the economy. Market mechanisms do not result in fair income distribution generally. In the Public System area, students will discuss the role of the public sector in correcting these market failures and income inequality from socio-economic perspectives, and comprehensively learn through multiple lectures and seminars. It is particularly recommended that students in this area take [Macroeconomics] and [Public Economics] as core courses.
| Course name | Course description | Target year |
|---|---|---|
| Seminar in SEP: Public System Area | In this course, students will learn methods often used for empirical research in the field of public economics. They will analyze socio-economic phenomena using actual data and computers. | 2 – 4 |
| International Finance | In this course, we first learn basic concepts that are indispensable to understanding international finance, such as national income accounts and the balance of payments, and then learn the relationship between the foreign exchange market and the financial market, which is the key to the subject's analysis. We deepen our understanding of the determinants of short-term and long-term exchange rates and the mechanisms of interactions between fiscal/monetary policy and international finance. | 2 – 4 |
| Public Economics | Appropriate interventions by government are essential to deal with malfunction of market such as environmental problems, undersupply and differential of public goods and existence of inequality. Students will learn main topics of public economics which consider what kind of intervention should be operated, on both sides of theory and actual proof. | 2 – 4 |
| Public Finance | The objective of this lecture is to learn the basic ideas of Public Finance, the system and practice of Japanese government. The study of public finance includes a function of government, theory of public goods, tax theory, fiscal balances, and fiscal policy. | 2 – 4 |
| Macroeconomics | We examine how gross domestic product (GDP), interest rate, growth rate, etc., are determined within an economy. We also discuss the effects of the fiscal and monetary policies implemented by governments and central banks on economic activities. | 2 – 4 |
| Network Science | In this lecture, students will learn network science, which deals mathematically with "relationships" that exist everywhere, from social to natural phenomena. The lecture will include practical exercises using Python with concrete examples. | 2 – 4 |
| Social Policy | This course introduces students to the study and practice of social policy, including labor policies and social security/social protection. With basic ideas of economics, students will gain a better understanding on social policy, including: 1) the rationale for social policy; 2) the roles of social policy from the perspectives of economic efficiency and equity; 3) the historical development of social policy; and 4) individual policies. | 2 – 4 |