Question

OBJECTIVE: Choose one of the subject areas covered in this unit and identify a specific policy issue of past or current significance in that area in Australia or elsewhere. Your task is to show how the above proposition can be applied to the issue you have identified. In other words, you need to be explicit about how economics allows the structure of the policy problem or issue to be specified, how it identifies the key economic relationships pertinent to the issue, and how economics helps in the defining of policy objectives in relation to that issue? You also need to indicate the kind of data that might be relevant to analysing the problem, and the methodology that would be appropriate. As part of your essay, you should indicate the sorts of advice an economist might offer to a policymaker considering the issue.

QUESTION: Consider the following proposition: “The principles and methods of theoretical and applied economics are invaluable to the public policy-maker. For any given policy issue, they enable the underlying structure of the problem to be specified, relationships to be clarified, objectives to be defined, required data to be identified, and appropriate methodologies to be deployed.”

Hey there! I was hoping if you could help me suggest 3-4 policy issues regardless of which country it is from and whether it was from the past or present time. In regards to the subject areas covered in the unit, it includes: "Public Goods and Political Economy", "Redistribution, Poverty & Inequality", "Public Policy and Education" and "Climate Change and Ecologically Sustainable Development". Also, I do not have a preference as to which topic to really go about with.

Answer 1

Specific policy issues:-

1) Public goods and Political economy - " Tarrif rates for water or electricity charges on different set of consumers" and " Access to justice for people of different income/social categories".

2) Redistribution, Poverty and Inequality - "Tax policy of a country, Relative rates of direct/indirect taxes". Fixing rates of Goods and services tax and rates/slabs for corporate and individuals income tax is an important public policy question for all countries.

3) Public Policy and Education - Languages of Instruction. Whether regional language/mother tongue or classical language like Sanskrit or widely used Hindi should be medium of instruction in India and when should English be introduced in schools to improve employability in globalising economy.

4) Climate Change and Ecologically Sustainable Development - Wether Cap and trade system of pollution credits or use of Best Available Technology or fixing quotas or imposing carbon tax is the best way of reducing GHG emmissions for a particular society or country. (California carbon credit markets is a specific example).