Analysis of Economic Feasibility of Social Projects (2009/2010)

Learning outcomes

This course aims to provide the basic tools for a critical analysis of social policies and social projects. Particular emphasis is given to market structure, policies and programming techniques, and economic and financial analysis of investment projects.

• Basic microeconomics (consumer choice, production activity, production costs, perfectly and imperfectly competitive markets)
• Basic macroeconomics (production and national income, consumption, investment, the public sector, money and the monetary system, inflation, unemployment)
• Economic and financial assessment of social projects
• Macro-, micro- and meso-economic approaches
• The characteristics of social projects
• Principles of cost-benefit analysis
• Net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index
• Types of costs and their structure
• Nature of benefits (direct and indirect benefits, quantifiable and unquantifiable benefits)
• Limits of cost-benefit analysis and other economic assessment techniques
• Analysis of case studies and discussion of current issues of economics and economic policy

Written exam and discussion