Economics

University Of Dundee

Economic Studies

MICROECONOMIC POLICY (BU41020)

Session 2018-2019

ESSAY TOPIC

Write an essay on the following topic:

Choose any one microeconomic issue and critically assess the success or otherwise of UK policy (or that of some other country of which you have knowledge) to deal with that issue. You may wish to consider, among other things, the strength of the economic case for intervention, the choice of policy instruments, implementation issues, evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of policy and any wider, possibly unintended, consequences.

You should use the module reading lists (especially for Section 1) as a preliminary guide only and use other resources (library, world-wide web, etc.) to supplement your research. Essays should be in the region of 2,000 words and no longer than 2,500. This is to encourage concise expression and effective use of a wide range of materials. You may be penalised if you exceed the word limit. You can find some guidance on how to write essays in your Advanced Undergraduate Guide.

Essays are to be submitted electronically via Turnitin by 12 noon, Thursday 1 November 2018 (end of week 8). Further details of how to submit your essay will be given in the module folder on My Dundee in due course. Essays will be automatically checked for plagiarism.

Students are reminded of the University’s regulations governing plagiarism.

Advice on choosing an essay topic

The essay is intended to provide you with an opportunity to look at something that is of personal interest to you, which may feel somewhat unfamiliar as an exercise. If you are in need of ideas then the following topics (in no particular order) have been covered (with more or less success) in previous years:

single use carrier bag charge; congestion charging; minimum unit pricing for alcohol, plain cigarette packaging; tobacco display ban; sugar tax; EU Emissions Trading Scheme; carbon pricing; renewables obligation certificates; right to buy (housing); help to buy (housing); New Deal for Young People;  Educational Maintenance Allowance (in England); economic transformation in Poland; NHS waiting time targets; Vehicle Excise Duty reform; UK landfill tax; Hartz IV labour market reform in Germany; German car scrappage scheme; one child policy in China; German bottle deposit return scheme; public smoking ban policies; labour market impacts of immigration; arts funding policy; educational vouchers; university tuition fees…...

You can also choose to write an essay on one of the topics covered in the course, although you would need to do more than reprise my notes….. Conversely, if you choose your own topic then your mark will reflect any research that you have undertaken in order to write the essay.

Picking a specific policy intervention (e.g. London congestion charging scheme) rather than a broad policy area (e.g. transport policy) is advisable, though it will generally be appropriate to provide some discussion of how your chosen intervention addresses broader policy objectives. I am aware that it may not be able to comment on all aspects of the policymaking cycle (objective setting; instrument choice; implementation issues; monitoring and evaluation) for any particular topic, especially if you choose to look at a policy that has yet to be or only recently been implemented (e.g. minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland) but even here there may be evidence on the likely effectiveness of such policies from the experience of other countries or ex-ante policy analyses. Marks will reflect my perception of whether you have explored the issue as fully as possible given what resources are likely to be available on the subject, but obviously choosing a topic for which there is relevant material available will make your task both easier and more satisfying.

Finally I would like to stress that I am happy to see you individually to discuss your plans for the essay and would indeed expect to see most students for this purpose. I would see such a meeting as being of help to you in firming up your ideas about what topic to write about and how to address it, before you commit too much time to the task.

Good luck

Paul.