Seminar in Public Economics 1/2

Master, 5 ECTS

Course Type: Seminar

Content:  Current Topics in Public Economics

Period:  Summer (1) and Winter Semester (2)

Lead Contacts Prof. Matthias Wrede (Summer Term) and Prof. Büttner (Winter Term)

Language:  English

Enrollment Procedure (SoSe 2022): Students who would like to participate in Public Economics 1 during the Summer Semester 2022 should submit the Participation Form to sebastian.ach@fau.de by February 20, 2022. The maximum number of participants is 10 students.

Course Description and List of Topics: Seminar Public Economics 1 Course Description 2022.

Summer Semester 2022:

During the seminar, participants will discuss a broad range of topics. A first set of topics address questions related to public economics (Prof. Büttner). A second set relates to public and spatial economics (Prof. Wrede). The list of topics below provides more details, including references and the research questions covered in the respective literature.

The seminar has two consecutive parts. In the first part, students write a thesis (15 pages) under the guidance of their advisor. In an introductory session, students learn about the principles of scientific work and the scope of analysis that is expected. The thesis elaborates on the literature (see the list of topics for the main article(s) to be covered). Students are expected to search for additional literature and then work independently on their topic. Advisors provide close guidance during this process.

The deadline to hand in the thesis is June 23, 2022. The second part consists of a two-day seminar (July 14-15, 2022) of students’ presentations. Before preparing their presentations, supervisors will provide students with detailed feedback on their thesis. During the seminar students present their thesis. Each presenter has 25 minutes for her/his presentation, followed by 25 minutes of discussion.

Organizational details and grading:

• The seminar is jointly organized by the chairs of Prof. Buettner and Prof. Wrede.
• Students who want to participate in Summer Semester 2022 should express their interest by submitting the Participation Form to sebastian.ach@fau.de by February 20, 2022.
• Please indicate your preferred topics. Preference will be given to the earliest submissions.
• After being assigned to a specific topic, students can repeal their participation within a week’s time. After that deadline has passed, participation in the seminar is mandatory. Students not handing in a thesis in time will be graded a 5.0.
• Please note that the maximum number of participants is 10 students.
• Additional information on how to write a seminar paper, how to search for literature, etc. will be provided in an introductory session.
• Grading: The overall grade will reflect the quality of the thesis (50%), the presentation in the seminar (30%), and the student’s contributions to the discussion following each of the presentations (20%).

Downloads:

Seminar Public Economics 1 Course Description 2022

Participation Form for SoSe 2022 

Guidelines for Searching Literature

Instructions for Writing a Seminar Thesis

 

Examples of former seminar topics: 

• Summer 2017: „Risk, Ambiguity, and Other-Regarding Behavior“.
• Summer 2016 : “Investment, Growth and Public Policy““

 

Further information about this course can be found in the module handbook. For time and location please consult UnivIS, documents and materials are available on StudON.