Program Overview

Course Overview

The course GOVT 521, Economics and Policy, is offered by the Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University of Wellington. This course explores economic theories, principles, and ideas, and their application to complex strategic and operational policy issues. It covers a diversity of approaches within economics, including behavioral and institutional economics tools that can be used to assess policy options.

Course Details

• Dates: 23 February 2026 to 21 June 2026
• Starts: Trimester 1
• Fees:
  • NZ$2,313.90 for domestic students
  • NZ$4,848.90 for international students
• Lecture Start Times: Monday 9.00am
• Campus: Pipitea
• Estimated Workload: Approximately 150 hours or 8.8 hours per week for 17 weeks
• Points: 15

Entry Restrictions

• Prerequisites: None
• Corequisites: None
• Restrictions: None

Course Objectives

Students who pass this course should be able to:

1. Analyse the perspectives, frameworks, and tools that economics brings to the study of public policy.
2. Identify what government can and cannot do to improve economic outcomes and how its intervention may affect economic activity.
3. Critically analyse economic theories and models in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and apply them as appropriate to public policy problems.

How This Course is Taught

This course is optimised for face-to-face delivery on campus. Lectures can be accessed via the university's online learning environment following the lecture or watched live via Zoom if in-person attendance is not possible. Optional tutorials may be scheduled, and there are no assessments requiring in-person attendance.

Assessment

• Short Answer Assessment on Material from Modules 1 and 2: Type - Individual, Mark - 40%
• Short Answer Assessment on Material from Modules 3 and 4: Type - Individual, Mark - 40%
• Short Answer Assessment on Material from Module 5: Type - Individual, Mark - 20%

Mandatory Requirements

There are no mandatory requirements for this course.

Lecture Times and Rooms

Lectures are scheduled from 23 February 2026 to 21 June 2026, with specific dates and rooms to be confirmed.

What You'll Need to Get

Several modules of the course are based on the CORE book: "Economy, Society and Public Policy". It is recommended to use the free e-book version. To gain a good intuitive feel for economic approaches to policy issues, it is also recommended to read "The Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford. If you have not studied any economics previously, reading chapter 1 of "Introduction to Health Economics" by Guinness L and Wiseman L is advised.

Required Texts

• Title: Economy, Society and Public Policy
• Edition: 1st
• Authors: The CORE Team
• Year: 2019
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Publication Place: Free ebook from the specified link

Recommended Texts

• Title: The Undercover Economist
• Edition: 2nd
• Authors: Tim Harford
• Year: 2007
• Publisher: Abacus
• Publication Place: London

Disclaimer

This course outline may be subject to change.