Social Choice (Bachelor, Q+, RMU, Erasmus)
Content:
The group's members' divergent interests and concerns can make group decision-making cumbersome and challenging. The theory of social choice evaluates how the concerns of citizens can be reflected in responsive government decisions. The theory of social choice is a broad field of study which encompasses a variety of questions and disciplines. The Arrow Impossibility Theorem will serve as our point of departure. The process of democratic decision-making will be discussed, leading to the normative theory of voting. Even if democratic elements are eliminated from the list of desired requirements, Arrow's findings still hold true. This indicates a fundamental conflict between Paretian consensus and liberal values, as well as an inevitable conflict between efficiency and basic rights. All of these factors revolve around Sen's Impossibility of a Paretian Liberal, the second theory we will examine. The course concludes with discussing various 'transcendental' approaches to social welfare, including utilitarianism, Rawls, Capability, etc.
Main Reference:
Amartya Sen: Collective Choice and Social Welfare. Harvard University Press (Penguin Books) 2017
The assessment in the module 'Social Choice' comprises two components: a term paper and a presentation.
Students enjoy considerable latitude in selecting their topics. However, it is imperative that the chosen subject matter maintains a clear and direct connection to the course content or the overarching theme of "Social Choice." Consequently, all assessments must be grounded in an existing research study. Building upon this foundation, students may, for instance, develop and discuss a case study. Suitable research articles can be found in journals such as Public Choice, European Journal of Political Economy, Social Choice and Welfare, and Mathematical Social Sciences.
Prior to the assignment of topics, students are required to submit an essay in which they outline and articulate what they perceive as particularly relevant and compelling about the selected research article. Based on this assessment, students can then apply the insights derived from the external research to a specific topic. Therefore, a successful completion of the assessment presupposes a thorough mastery of the content delivered in the Social Choice lectures.
Finanzpolitik (Bachelor)
Content:
The module focuses on significant challenges encountered by governments. We will get started with the administration of the public household. Then, an introduction will be provided to tax schemes, tax incidence, and tax policy. Armed with these theoretical pillars, we will address equitable and effective taxation. Our insights will be applied to tax policy in Germany and the European Union. The course concludes with a discussion of the public debt regulations for Germany (debt brake) and the EU (fiscal pact). The class is taught in German.
Main reference:
Anthony Atkinson and Joseph Stiglitz: Lecture on Public Economics, Princeton University Press, 2015.
Accessing Lecture Notes and R/Python Scripts on GitLab: https://decision-making.economics.uni-mainz.de/files/2025/04/GitLab_Student_Guide_BSc_Finanzpolitik.pdf A student guide.
Empirical Social Choice (MIEEP)
Further details and information will be announced soon.