Tantárgy adatlap

A tantárgy szakmai tartalma: The aim of the course is to make students understand the economic logic and social roles of social policy. Thus, they will be able to see how the different types of social policies (special focus on education and family policy) can contribute to the human development. Since there are different approaches towards social policy it can include different attitudes towards social problems and their variant solutions. The declared goal of this course is to force students to participate in discussions actively.
The chosen topics (education and family policy) has relevancy not just in Hungary but all
over Europe as well. First, we introduce the students to social policy, then we discuss education and family policies. Both of the social policies can foster social mobility and equal opportunities. The course is based on the recent empirical results and highlights international examples.The course builds on the background knowledge of students in microeconomics, public sector economics and public policy, and aims to provide an advanced level discussion of educational and social policy issues on that basis.
The course will rely on up-to-date research findings, some of which stem from the US context, yet the policy issues to be discussed in depth will be selected on the basis of their European and Hungarian relevance.
The course will be based on economic analysis, and it will also discuss education and social policies from a public policy point of view, investigating the roles of different actors and their interactions in the policy process.

Évközi tanulmányi követelmények: Components of the final grade:
30%: In-class debate (group work)
30%: In-class group presentation (15 minutes)
40%: Mid-term and Final exam (multiple choice and short open-ended questions

Vizsgakövetelmény: Components of the final grade:
30%: In-class debate (group work)
30%: In-class group presentation (10 minutes)
40%: Mid-term and Final exam (multiple choice and short open-ended questions

Az értékelés módszere: 60%: presentations in groups
40%: mid and final exams

Tananyag leírása: I. Social Policy
The course introduces the students to the definitions of social policy such as subsidiary, targeted vs. universal interventions, eligibility rules, financial supports and basic income guarantee. It also includes the issue of equal opportunities, poverty and measures of poverty. Finally, we discuss the welfare states concepts and the future of the welfare states.


II. Economics of education
The aim of this part of the course is to introduce students to the main theoretical and empirical issues in the economics of education. Topics across all levels of education (early childhood, primary, secondary level and higher education) will be covered. Students will learn how education economists use empirical research designs and identification strategies to contribute to policy debates. Contested topics in education policy will be discussed by organizing in-class debates.

III. Family policies
In this part of the course, we discuss the various definitions of family policy and try to answer the following questions: whether family policies can contribute to higher fertility rates? Can family policy help to decrease the work-life conflicts within the families? Can family policy increase gender equality?

Description of competences: The students will get acquainted with the conceptions of social policy and the different theoretical and empirical approaches in education and family policies. They will be able to participate in social policy debates and argue for different approaches. They will learn the different empirical methods which will allow them to be able to identify the direct and indirect effects of the different social policy practices.

Órarendi beosztás: 

Kompetencia leírása: 

Félévközi ellenőrzések: 

A hallgató egyéni munkával megoldandó feladatai: 

Szak neve: : MSc in Public Policy and Management

Irodalomjegyzék:
Kötelező irodalom:

• Barr, N. A. (2012). The economics of the welfare state. Oxford University Press. 5th edition (Chapters 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Ajánlott irodalom:

• Ehrenberg, R. G. – R. S. Smith: Modern Labor Economics, ch. 9.
• Stiglitz, J. E., & Rosengard, J. K. (2015). Economics of the Public Sector: Fourth International Student Edition. WW Norton & Company. (Chapter on education)
• Hanushek, E. (2003). The failure of input-based schooling policies. Economic Journal, 113(485):64–98.
• Heckman, James J. 2000. “Policies to foster human capital.” Research in Economics 54(1):3-56.
• Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2006). Teacher-student matching and the assessment of teacher effectiveness. Journal of Human Resources, XLI(4 (Fall)), 778–820
• Schütz, G. – H. W. Ursprung – L. Wössmann (2008): Educational policy and equality of opportunity, Kyklos, Vol. 61, Issue 2, pp. 279-308
• Ladd, Helen (2002). School vouchers. A critical view. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 16, No. 4 (autumn, 2002), pp. 3-24.
• C. M. Hoxby (1996): Are efficiency and equity in school finance substitutes or complements? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 10/4., 51-72.
• Eric A. Hanushek, E. A. M. E. Raymond (2005) Does school accountability lead to improved student performance?, Journal of Policy analysis and management
• Angrist, Joshua D. - Parag A. Pathak - Christopher R. Walters (2013) Explaining Charter School Effectiveness, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 5, no. 4, October 2013, pp. 1-27
• Barr, Nicholas (2004) Higher Education Funding Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Vol. 20. No. 2. 264—283.
• Ehrenberg, R. G. [2010]: The economics of tuition fees in American higher education. In: Brewer, D. J.–McEwan P. J.(ed.) Economics of education. Eelsevier, 227–232.
• Winston, G. C. [1999]: Subsidies, hierarchy and Peers: The awkward economics of higher education. Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 13. no. 1. 13–36. o.
• Dearden, L.– Fitzsimons, E.– Goodman, A.– Kaplan, G. [2008a]: Higher education funding
• reforms in England: The distributional effects and the shifting balance of costs. Economic
• Journal
• Meghir, Costas and Marten Palme (2005). Educational Reform, Ability, and Family Background, American Economic Review. 95(1): 414–424.
• Esther Duflo, Pascaline Dupas, and Michael Kremer (2011): Peer Effects, Teacher Incentives, and the Impact of Tracking: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Kenya, American Economic Review 101 (August 2011): 1739–1774
• Kézdi Gábor – Surányi Éva (2009): A Successful School Integration Program. An Evaluation of the Hungarian National Government’s School Integration Program, 2005–2007. Roma Education Fund.
• Levin, Henry M. and Emma Garcia (2012): Cost -Effectiveness of Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (Asap) of the City University of New York (Cuny)
• Grenet, Julien (2013) Is Extending Compulsory Schooling Alone Enough to Raise Earnings? Evidence from French and British Compulsory Schooling Laws, Scand. J. of Economics 115(1), 176–210
• Gauthier, A. (2012). The impact of family policies on fertility in industrialized countries: a review of the literature. Population Research and Policy Review, 26, 323- 346.
• Gerda Neyer and Gunar Anderson (2008): Consequences of Family Policies on Childbearing Behavior: Effects or Artifacts? In Population and Development Review
• Grönlund, A., & Öun, I. (2010). Rethinking work-family conflict: dual-earner policies, role conflict and role expansion in Western Europe. Journal of European Social Policy, 20(3), 179-195. doi:10.1177/0958928710364431
• Lister, A (2013). The „Mirage” of Social Justice: Hayek Against (and For) Rawls. https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2013.853859
• Lohmann, H., & Zagel, H. (2016). Family policy in comparative perspective: The concepts and measurement of familization and defamilization. Journal of European Social Policy, 26(1), 48–65
• Nielsen, L. (2011). Shared Parenting After Divorce: A Review of Shared Residential Parenting Research, Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 52(8), 586-609
• Manning, W. D., & Smock, P. J. (2000). “Swapping” Families: Serial Parenting and Economic Support for Children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62(1), 111-122. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00111.x
• Matysiak, A – Szalma, I (2014). Effects of parental leave policies on second birth and women's employment in Hungary and Poland. In.: Population 4/2014 (Vol. 69), p. 659-698.