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Semester 1

Philosophy of Economics (PHIL10207)

Subject

Philosophy

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B or above; we will only consider University/College level courses. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

The philosophy of economics as such goes back to the distinguishing of economics as its own discipline, addressing questions about the distinctiveness of the subject matter and the metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical status of its assumption and methods. This course will address questions such as the following. What is the metaphysical and epistemological status of the conception of the person employed in economic models? What is the subject matter of economics, if any? What distinguishes economic methodology from the methodologies of formal disciplines, empirical disciplines, philosophical disciplines? To what extent are economic theories value-laden? What is exchange? What is a market? What are the ethical limits or shortcomings with markets? What kinds of alternatives to markets are there? What is the practical significance of results in decision theory and game theory? To what extent can economics guide or be guided by political philosophy and moral philosophy?

Course Description

The course will be divided into three main parts, each of which will be addressed, although the exact distribution of topics and the emphasis may vary in any given year. **1. Methods and Epistemology of Economics: This part of the course addresses the distinctive metaphysical and epistemological questions concerning the nature and method of standard economic analysis. We will discuss questions such as: What is utility, and how do economists measure it? Does evidence of widespread `irrationality' from behavioural economics undermine standard microeconomic theory? Can idealised models teach us anything about real-world phenomena? If yes, how? How should we measure important economic variables, such as inflation? How do we best find out what interventions work in development? What is the practical significance of results in decision theory and game theory? **2. Welfare Economics: The second area of focus is on welfare economics, and the ethical assumptions and implications of economics. We will cover questions such as: Is getting what you want always good for you? Can you be harmed by something if you never know about it? Does it make sense to say that eating pizza gives me more happiness than going to the movies gives you? Is it possible to combine the preferences of individuals into an overall 'social' preference? Does it matter if the well-being of some people is less than that of others? When and why are markets desirable? Is paternalism always bad, and does welfare economics really avoid it? How should we resolve collective action problems? What is a fair way to distribute the tax burden? **3. Market and Non-Market Systems: What is exchange? What is a market? How do 'invisible hand' explanations work? What are market failures? Consider various market-based and non-market-based responses to market failures. What is the significance of the welfare theorems? What are property rights, and how do they differ from other kinds of rights, if at all? What is the labour theory of value? What might non-market-based economic systems be like?

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

Unless you are nominated on a Philosophy exchange agreement, visiting students are only permitted to enrol in only one 3rd year Philosophy course each, per semester, before the start of the relevant semester’s welcome period – and spaces on each course are limited so cannot be guaranteed for any student. Enrolment in additional courses from this subject area will depend on whether there are still spaces available in the September Welcome Period, and cannot be guaranteed. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact staff within this subject area to ask for an exception to be made; all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. This is due to the extremely limited number of spaces available in this very popular subject area.

view the timetable and further details for this course