Student guide Faculty of Economics A.Y. 2010/11

Economics of Public Administration and public companies
Lesson timetable, Notice board, Additional material
Aim of the course
Public administrations account for an important share of economic activity, with over half the national income passing through them for a variety of purposes, making them a salient feature of the environment in which enterprises operate.
What is more, the economic interdependence between enterprises and public administrations plays a decisive role in shaping the economies of developed countries.
This interdependence affects the ability of both enterprises and public administrations to reach their objectives efficiently and effectively, and is often crucial to determining the competitiveness of companies situated in different geographical areas.
An understanding of the structure, general workings and management criteria of public administrations is an essential part of the training of a corporate manager. By the same token, an understanding of the forms of interaction between enterprises, public administrations and non-profit organisations is an important element in the training of those who must work within complex economic settings, where international integration augments both the dynamism and uncertainty of the contexts in which economic activities take place.
The fundamental objective of the course is therefore to impart an understanding of the workings of public administrations, and the role they play within the economic system. In addition, the course will illustrate how the reality of public administrations can be analysed from a business economics perspective, which provides powerful tools for interpreting administrative phenomena and seeking out paths for improvement.
Syllabus
The workings of public administrations
1. Reference framework for the role of public administrations
2. Characteristics of public administrations
3. Definition of strategy in public administrations
4. The balance sheet in public administrations
5. Planning and control in public administrations
6. Public managers
7. Organisation and personnel in public administrations

Different types of public administrations
1. The local authorities sector
2. The regions
3. The ministries sector
4. The public health sector
5. The schools and universities sector

Public administration and the economic system
1. Relations between public administrations and enterprises
2. Local public enterprises
Examinations
Students who attend lectures
During the winter session, students who attend lectures will have the opportunity to sit an oral examination,
on the material covered in the classroom lectures (the references are detailed in the column labelled "study materials").
There will also be a written pre-examination session at the end of the course, covering the same subject matter.

For students who do not attend lectures:
There will be an oral examination covering the following:
Rebora - Un decennio di riforme. Nuovi modelli organizzativi e processi di cambiamento delle amministrazioni pubbliche. Guerini , Milano 1999 (Chapters 1, 2, 3,4,5,6,7);
Reading list
Rebora - Un decennio di riforme. Nuovi modelli organizzativi e processi di cambiamento delle amministrazioni pubbliche. Guerini , Milano 1999;
Ruffini – Fondamenti di economia delle aziende e delle amministrazioni pubbliche. De Agostini, Roma, 2004.