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  3. Government in a Market Economy

Government in a Market Economy (XNTS70011)

Cross-institutional (level 7)Points: 12.5Off Campus

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Overview

Availability
August - Off Campus
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Examine key economic principles as they relate to public sector activities to support decisions in allocating scarce resources, pricing and delivering goods and services. This subject explores how government intervention, through both private sector regulation and the public provision of services, can achieve the best outcomes for citizens. 

Note: this subject is only available to students enrolled in the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA).

Intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • Understand how market forces operate and how government policies influence, and are influenced by, market forces
  • Understand why unfettered private markets can sometimes fail to deliver efficient and fair outcomes for society
  • Identify particular examples of market failure and apply economic principles to designing government interventions to prevent or reduce the costs of market failure
  • Apply the economic toolkit to decisions facing public sector managers about delivery and pricing of public services
  • Apply the key principles of cost-benefit analysis to public sector projects
  • Appreciate the importance and role of the public sector in promoting national productivity and reducing unacceptable inequities.

Generic skills

On completion of this subject, students should have: 

  • An advanced awareness of the operation of market forces, the risk of market failure and their interrelationship with government policies and practices
  • A high-level ability to apply theories of public sector economics in the design of public policies, particularly for the prevention or reduction of market failure
  • A high-level ability to connect professional skills in public administration and management with discipline-based expertise in economics
  • The ability to draw upon an extensive repertoire of advanced professional skills, including cost-benefit analysis and economic reasoning, in the analysis of public problems and in making decisions about the delivery and pricing of public services
  • A high-level appreciation of the ethical considerations and dimensions of public sector action to promote national productivity and reduce unacceptable inequities.

Last updated: 3 December 2025