This class exists in these courses :
• IÉSEG > IESEG Degree - Programme Grande École > Semester 1 > 2,00 ECTS

Prerequisites

none

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student should be able to :
- understand why Welfare States exist;
- Understand how benefit design tries to reduce moral hazard and poverty traps.

Course description

1. Welfare States
1.1 Why did welfare states emerge? How did they develop?
1.2 The building blocks: Social insurance, social assistance, and individual insurance;
1.3 The economics of state intervention;
1.4 The economics of insurance, moral hazard and adverse selection;

2. Welfare state’s main schemes (excluding pensions)
2.1 Unemployment insurance: make-work pay;
2.2 Social Assistance;
2.3 Child and family policies;

3. Pensions
3.1 The traditional pay-as-you-go arrangement;
3.2 A demographic bomb?
3.3 The implicit debt problem;
3.4 Case studies on pension systems and reforms.

Class type

Class structure

Teaching methods

• Interactive class
• Presentation
• Project work
• Research

Assessment

Individual implication during lectures (punctuality, class attendance, contributing to discussion, written answers)
Group research (written document + presentation + discussion).

Recommended reading

• Nicholas Barr (2012). Economics of the Welfare State. Fifth Edition. Oxford University Press. -

Internet resources

• For EU countries: MISSOC Database

• For non-EU countries: International Social Security Association (ISSA)