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Economic Growth and Distributive Justice Part I - The Role of the State

Approx. 8 hours to complete

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Course Summary

This course provides an introduction to economic growth, including its underlying theories, empirical evidence, and historical context. Students will learn about the main drivers of economic growth, how growth is measured, and how policy can affect growth rates.

Key Learning Points

Understand the theories and empirical evidence behind economic growth
Learn about the main drivers of economic growth
Explore how policy affects growth rates

Job Positions & Salaries of people who have taken this course might have

- USA: $79,000
- India: ₹900,000
- Spain: €48,000
- USA: $79,000
- India: ₹900,000
- Spain: €48,000
- USA: $65,000
- India: ₹750,000
- Spain: €40,000
- USA: $79,000
- India: ₹900,000
- Spain: €48,000
- USA: $65,000
- India: ₹750,000
- Spain: €40,000
- USA: $35,000
- India: ₹400,000
- Spain: €21,000

Learning Outcomes

Understand the main theories of economic growth
Evaluate the empirical evidence on economic growth
Analyze the role of policy in promoting economic growth

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

Basic knowledge of microeconomics and macroeconomics
Familiarity with statistical methods

Course Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Course Format

Online
Self-paced

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Macroeconomics: The Wealth of Nations
International Trade and Economic Growth
Economic Development

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Description

If you really care about the big questions in the economies and societies of the 21st century, such as distributive justice - namely, inequality of income or wealth, and its correlation with economic growth - this course is meant for you. The knowledge you will gain can truly change your outlook on our world.

"Economic Growth and Distributive Justice - the Role of the State" is the first part of a two part course and it includes the following four lectures: (1) What do we need a state for? (2) The Relationship between Efficiency and Distributive Justice (3) Demonstrating the implications of different ethical theories (4) Distributive Justice: measurement and implications Once you've completed the first part, we strongly recommend that you register for the second part entitled: "Economic Growth and Distributive Justice - Maximizing Social Well-being", as well. Taking both parts of the course would enable you to obtain a fuller and more comprehensive knowledge about Economic Growth and Distributed Justice. The course is founded upon the elemental idea that the role of the state is to maximize the well-being - or simply the happiness - of its residents. In 9 fascinating, edifying lessons, using only simple words and decoding professional terminologies that sometimes baffle the intelligent layman, the course expounds many truths – both intuitive and unintuitive. Often using examples from the US and Europe, it does not however focus on policies in any particular region of the world, and is directly applicable to all countries around the globe. The course touches upon the essence of important concepts like efficiency and equity, inequality and poverty, gross domestic product, tax evasion and tax planning; it presents the work of Nobel Laureate James Mirrlees and his followers - promoting a coherent system that integrates tax and government expenditures to maximize social welfare; and illuminates a range of high-profile issues from their economic angle: • Climate change: the atmosphere and oceans as public goods, and how smart (Pigovian) taxation can be used to combat the rapidly increasing threats to our planet; • Technology as the engine of economic growth; • Taxing the rich: How can we mitigate the growing inequality problem? Should we impose a global tax on capital? The curriculum includes interviews with major figures in the fields of law and of economics: Harvard's Elhanan Helpman, Dan Shaviro from NYU and Richard Epstein from the University of Chicago and NYU. After successfully completing this course, you can expect to be able to: • Better understand economic issues presented in the media • Form an informed opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of presented social economic policies • Define and measure inequality and poverty • Define the connection between inequality (income, wealth) and economic growth • Explain the foundations of economic growth • Design a tax and transfer system to maximize the happiness of individuals All these will allow you to better understand the policies being developed around you, and to play a larger, more informed role in their development, as a conscientious citizen. In order to receive academic credit for this course you must successfully pass the academic exam on campus. For information on how to register for the academic exam – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/registration Additionally, you can apply to certain degrees using the grades you received on the courses. Read more on this here – https://go.tau.ac.il/b.a/mooc-acceptance Teachers interested in teaching this course in their class rooms are invited to explore our Academic High school program here – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/online-highschool Please note that there is a second part to this course which is a direct extension of this part. We highly recommend to continue to the second part after you finish this one (https://www.coursera.org/learn/economic-growth-part-2/home/welcome).

Outline

What do we Need a State For?
Course promo
Introduction
1.1 What is the Policymaker’s Goal?
1.2 Maximizing Happinness: The case of Bhutan
1.3 The Experiencing Self vs. the Remembering Self
1.4 How Can the State Promote its Goal?
1.5 The Ultimatum Game
1.6 Financing Public Goods
1.7 Providing Public Goods
1.8 Internalizing Externalities
1.9 Climate Change
Summary
Recommended Books
Recommended Reading - Week 1
week 1

The Relationship between Efficiency and Distributive Justice
2.1 Defining and Measuring Economic Growth
2.2 The Intuition of the Economic Growth Model
2.3 Innovation (technology) as the Key to Economic Growth
2.4 When Efficiency Promotes Equality
2.5 When Inequality is Inefficient
2.6 When Policy is Counter-Intuitive: The Classic Example of Comparative Advantage
2.7 When there is a Trade-off Between Efficiency and Equality
2.8 Using the Leaky Bucket Parable to Explain what is a Social Welfare Function
Recommended Reading - Week 2
Week 2

Demonstrating Implications of Different Ethical Theories
3.1 Distributive Justice Theories: Libertarianism and Utilitarianism
3.2 Distributive Justice Theories: Maximin
3.3 Distributive Justice Theories: Egalitarianism and Weighted Utilitarianism
3.4 Understanding the Concept of Diminishing Marginal Utility from Consumption
3.5 Policy Implications of Assuming Diminishing Marginal Utility from Consumption
3.6 Illustrating Utilitarianism with a Real Life Example: Presenting the example
3.7 Conventional Analysis of Taxing Damages Paid for Loss of Earnings
3.8 Conventional Analysis of Taxing Damages for Medical Expenses and for Pain and Suffering
Recommended Reading - Week 3
week 3

Distributive Justice: Measurement and Implications
4.1 Public Finance Analysis: Choosing the tax rule that would maximize Social Welfare
4.2 Public Finance Analysis of Taxing Damages for Lost Earnings
4.3 Public Finance Analysis of Taxing the Reimbursement of Medical Expenses
4.4 Public Finance Analysis of Taxing Damages for Pain and Suffering
4.5 The Policy Process: Summarizing what we've learnt from the Real Life Example
4.6 Accounting for the Fact that People Live in Families
4.7 Measuring Income Inequality
4.8 Defining and Measuring Poverty
Conclusion of Part I
Recommended Reading - Week 4
What's next?
week 4
Final Exam

Summary of User Reviews

Discover the principles of economic growth and their real-world applications in this comprehensive online course. Students praise the instructors' expertise and interactive teaching style, while many appreciate the course's emphasis on case studies and practical examples.

Pros from User Reviews

Expert instructors
Interactive teaching style
Real-world applications
Comprehensive coverage of economic growth principles
Clear and concise lectures

Cons from User Reviews

Some students find the course too basic
Limited discussion of advanced economic concepts
Not suitable for those without a basic understanding of economics
Some technical issues with video and audio quality
No option for live interaction with instructors

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