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Economics and Ethics

Module description

All economic policy involves the application of value judgements to positive propositions about the consequences of alternative actions.  This module studies economic policy to determine how these value judgements are, and should be, formed.  Areas include distribution, environmental issues affecting the future, the case for growth, the economics of happiness and the costs and benefits of saving or destroying lives.

Module aims - intentions of the module

All economic policymaking involves applying value-judgements to positive analysis of the consequences of alternative policies. We currently study the latter intensively but not the former.  This module will fill the gap. It is also aimed to contribute towards your employability by increasing your literacy and capacity for logical thought.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. understand the difference between positive and normative and where each one applies
• 2. identify the ethical presuppositions concealed in policy decisions

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. demonstrate expertise in welfare economics and cost-benefit analysis
• 4. apply the economics of equality, happiness and distribution

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. communicate effectively in written English
• 6. demonstrate logical thinking

Syllabus plan

• Positive economics and value judgements. How complete is the separation between the two?

• Does welfare economics depend on utilitarianism?  Should it do so more or less than it does at the moment?

• Can we make interpersonal comparisons of utility?  What are the ethical consequences of acting as if we can / we can’t?

• GDP and other measures of welfare. Which one should we choose? Do we need to choose between them at all?

• Happiness economics. Should happiness be the goal of economic policy?

• Consumerism versus a good life. Why do so many intellectuals want people to have less?

• Is there anything ethical or unethical about free markets or are they just another way of delivering the goods?

• Is equality desirable? How much and what kind?

• Comparing theories of distributive justice (Mill, Hayek, Rawls, Nozick etc.)

• International distributive justice. Have rich countries an obligation to help poor ones? What about extraterrestrial life (if found)?

• Intertemporal distributive justice. What rate of discount should we apply to the interests of future generations?

• How should life be valued and where does this lead in policy terms?

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Students who fail the module will be re-assessed on the exam only.

Students who are granted a deferral will be re-assessed in the deferred component.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Wilfred Beckerman Economics as Applied Ethics, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011