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Public Policies for Research, Development and Innovation

Code: 45541
Credits: 10
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Economics and Business Administration OP 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Maria Cervini
Email :
maria.cervini@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Xavier Ramos Morilla
Albert Gragera Llado
Javier Fernandez Blanco

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Fundamentals of Economics and Business I

Fundamentals of Economics and Business II

 

 

Objectives

Causal Impact Evaluation Methods in Public Policies:

The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the growing field of impact evaluation in economics. The course presents the main methodologies used to quantify the causal effect of policy interventions on outcomes, including randomized evaluations, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity designs and natural experiments. These methodologies are assessed critically focusing on their weaknesses and strengths as well as focusing on their application in Stata. The course also offers an overview of the key debates in the design and implementation of a wide range of policies, and their impact on socially relevant issues such as tackling poverty, improving quality and access to education, regeneration of deprived areas, fostering employment.


Economics and Policy of Infrastructure and Public Investment:

This course studies the economic aspects of infrastructures using the tools of economic analysis in deciding the optimal level of infrastructure provision, the role of public and private sector in their provisionand operation and shows the policy implications of the deregulation process that has taken place in infrastructure markets in recent years. The emphasis of the course is empirical, with detailed examples and case studies to show the economic consequences of alternative policy designs.


Labor Economics:

The course provides an introduction to the economic analysis of the labour market, a central component of the economy where wages and employment opportunities are determined, with implications for consumption, savings and family formation decisions. Using simple models, students will study labour supply and labour demand decisions by individuals and firms, as well as the sensitivity of labour supply to changes in productivity, taxes and other economic fundamentals. The course will also examine the effects of automation and robotization, gender differences in the labour market and income inequality. Finally, it will introduce frictional models to analyse unemployment and the role of public policies.

Learning outcomes

  • (CA10) Evaluate the impact of different public policies for sustainable development and social progress taking into account possible gender biases.
  • (CA11) Offer information effectively about the need, characteristics, and effects of public policy to audiences with and without prior knowledge of economic analysis .
  • (KA10) Recognise the appropriate empirical techniques for the analysis and evaluation of public policies and the causal relationship between the different variables considered.
  • (KA11) Identify the determinants of labour market developments and their effects on social welfare.
  • (KA12) Describe the role of policies to promote research and innovation in environments characterised by rapid technological progress.
  • (KA13) Identify the relevant factors in the design of educational policies for social progress.
  • (KA14) Identify gender biases in the analysis and evaluation of different public policies for their correction and improvement.
  • (SA06) Evaluate the impact of different social policies from the perspective of gender, efficiency, ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability.
  • (SA07) Analyse the processes of designing public policies aimed at social progress.
  • (SA08) Evaluate the social impact of the different topics that can be dealt with in a research project.

Contents

Causal Impact Evaluation Methods in Public Policies:


  1. Key challenges of estimating the causal impact of public policies
  2. Randomized evaluations
  3. Difference-in-differences
  4. Propensity score matching
  5. Regression discontinuity designs
  6. Endogeneity and Instrumental Variables
  7. Natural and quasi-natural experiments



Economics and Policy of Infrastructure and Public Investment:


  1. Introduction: economic importance of infrastructures.
  2. Infrastructures and economic growth.
  3. Decision-making on infrastructure provision.
  4. Models of public-private infrastructure management.
  5. Infrastructure provision with private contracts and concessions.
  6. Infrastructure regulation and competition:Infrastructure regulation.



Labor Economics:


  1. Labor supply: Labor supply decisions under perfect competition. Trends in labor force participation and hours worked. Gender gap.
  2. Labor demand: Labor demand under perfect competition.
  3. General equilibrium. Wages: Perfect competition. The trade-off between growth and earnings inequality. Automation and artificial intelligence.
  4. Unemployment: Frictional models of the labor market. Unemployment and labor market policies.




Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Type: Autonomous
Study, Reading, Exercise solving, Essays writing, 79.5 3.18
Type: Guided
Lectures with ITC support 37.5 1.5
Resolution of exercises 37.5 1.5
Type: Supervised
Tutoring and monitoring work in progress. In-class presentations 62.5 2.5

 The activities that will allow the students to learn the basic concepts included in this course are:

1. Theory lectures where the instructor will explain the main concepts.

The goal of this activity is to introduce the basic notions and guide the student learning.

2. Problem Sets

In some subjects, a problem set which students will have to solve individually or in teams will be included in every unit. The goal of this activity is twofold. On one hand students will work with the theoretical concepts explained in the classroom, and on the other hand through this practice they will develop the necessary skills for problem solving.

3. Practice lectures

The aim of this activity is to comment on and solve any possible doubt that students may have had solving the problem assignment. This way they will be able to understand and correct any errors they may have had during this process.

4. Essay writing

In some subjects students will produce written essays on the topics proposed.

5. Tutoring hours

Students will have some tutor hours in which the subject instructors will help them solve any doubts they may have. 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Causal Impact Evaluation Methods in Public Policies Grade 33,33% 11 0.44 CA10, CA11, KA10, KA11, KA12, KA13, KA14, SA06, SA07, SA08
Economics and Policy of Infrastructure and Public Investment Grade 33.33% 11 0.44 CA10, CA11, KA10, KA11, KA12, KA13, KA14, SA06, SA07, SA08
Labor Economic Grade 33,33% 11 0.44 CA10, CA11, KA10, KA11, KA12, KA13, KA14, SA06, SA07, SA08

1. The module consists of a number of different subjects or parts taught by different professors. The final mark for the module will consist of the average of the marks of each subject within the module.

  • The module is considered successfully passed if:
  • the mark for each subject within the module is higher than or equal to 3.0 (in a 0 to 10 scale), and
  • the final mark for that module is higher than or equal to 5.0 (in a 0 to 10 scale).


IMPORTANT: Students are expected to attend all lectures. Professors might take into account class attendance and in-class participation as part of the final assesment of their subject.


  • If the module is not successfully passed and the mark is larger or equal than 3.5, the MEBA coordinators will ask the student to re-take the exams for those subjects that, according to the coordinators and the professors opinions, may help the student to successfully pass the module.
  • If after the re-take exams the student successfully passes the module, her or his mark for that module will be upgraded accordingly, otherwise the previous grade will remain valid. Two restrictions apply for the results after retaking:
  • the highest mark for any subject retaken is 5.5; and
  • the final grade of the module after the re-take exams cannot be higher than 6.8.



2.The mark -between 0 and 10- for each subject will be computed by each professor based on his or her own criteria and on the student's performance. As a general rule, the following scheme will be applied:

  • Class participation (0%-15%).
  • Submission of reports, assignments, and/or exercises (15%-30%).
  • Oral presentation/defense of reports and/or assignments (0%-10%).
  • Individual written tests (50%-65%).

Be aware that this, as well as the duration and nature of the final examination, is decided by each professor


3.Final exams are compulsory. Re-take exams are only thought for those students having previously written a first exam and failed.

Bibliography

Causal Impact Evaluation Methods in Public Policies:

  • Khandker, Shahidur R.; Koolwal, Gayatri B.; Samad, Hussain A.. 2010. Handbook on Impact Evaluation : Quantitative Methods and Practices. World Bank.https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2693 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
  • Angrist, J. and Pischke, J.-S, 2008, Mostly Harmless Econometrics An empiricist’s Companion, Princeton University Press.
  • Angrist, J. and Pischke, J.-S, 2014, Mastering Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect, Princeton University Press.
  • Shenyang Guo and Mark W. Fraser, 2010, Propensity Score Analysis, Statistical Methods and Applications, Sage Editorial.


Economics and Policy of Infrastructure and Public Investment:

  • Aschauer, D. A. Is public infrastructure productive? Journal of Monetary Economics 23, 177-200, 1989.
  • Auriol, E C. Crampes and A. Estache, Regulating Public Services , Cambridge University Press, 2021.
  • Bom, P.D. and Ligthart, J.E. What have we learned from three decades of research on the productivity of public capital?, Journal of Economic Surveys, 28 (5), 889-916, 2014.
  • E. Engel, R. Fischer and A. Galetovic, The Economics of Public-Private Partnerships. A basic guide, 2014
  • Gómez-Ibáñez, J. A., Regulating infrastructure. Monopoly, contracts anddiscretion, Harvard University Press, 2003.
  • Gramlich, E.M. Infrastructure investment: A review essay. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XXXII, 1176-1196, 1994.
  • Guasch, J.L. Granting and Renegotiating Infrastructure Concessions: Doing it Right, The World Bank, 2004.
  • Kessides, I. N., Reforming infrastructure: privatization, regulation, and competition, Oxford University Press – The World Bank, 2004.
  • Romp W. and de Haan, J., Public Capital and Economic Growth: A Critical Survey, Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik 8 (Special Issue): 6–52, 2007.
  • Straub, S., Infrastructure and Development: A Critical Appraisal of the Macro-level Literature, The Journal of Development Studies, vol. 47(5), 683-708, 2011.
  • World Bank, World Development Report 1994: Infrastructure For Development. Oxford University Press, New York. Overview and Chapter 1, 1-36, 1994.


Labor Economics:

  • Ehrenberg, R. and R. Smith (2025), Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy, (15th ed.)
  • Doepke, M., Lehnert, A., and A. Sellgren, Macroeconomics (https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/mdo738/book.htm)
  • Ljungqvist, L. and T. Sargent (2018), Recursive Macroeconomic Theory, MIT Press (4th edition)

Software

STATA/R

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TEm) Theory (master) 30 English second semester morning-mixed