Lecturer: Holger Bonin

Social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues. Social policy aims at improving human welfare and meeting the needs of citizens in need because of, e.g., old age, poor health, disability or lack of employment. This course will look at concepts how to best design social policies, considering the efficiency as well as the equity perspective. The lecture introduces the basic aims, principles and concepts to justify and benchmark social policies that address different risks in life, and discusses the theory of state intervention and (social) insurance design. This prepares the ground for the seminar, which will take a stronger empirical perspective in discussing the effects of selected social policy measures.