Public Finance

Abstract:

Public Finance rests at the intersection of two disciplines: Public Economics and Public Choice. Public Economics deals with issues of social optimality: how much of a good (or bad) does a society desire (or tolerate), and how do we incentivize producers and consumers to attain that amount? Public economics concerns itself with externalities, which are costs that are borne by persons not involved in a market transaction. There are both positive and negative externalities; public economists want to know how we get more of the good and less of the bad. Public choice is the field of economics that looks into the behavior of voters, politicians, and bureaucrats and studies how they choose given different policy institutions. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Define public finance terms such as 'public good,' 'free-rider,' 'median voter theorem,' 'externality,' 'pigouvian taxes,' and 'Lindahl tax.' Where appropriate, students will be able to include a graphical representation of these concepts in their definition of these terms; Give examples of different types of taxation; Identify the costs to society related to the imposition of a tax; Understand some simple economic models related to public finance, including the Consumer and Producer Surplus models and the Keynesian aggregate demand model; Graphically describe the effects of taxation on labor supply decisions, at both the individual (micro) and national (macro) levels; Explain the political economy aspects of public finance, particularly as they relate to rent seeking and lobbying, as well as the strategies that can be taken to combat rent-seeking behaviors, as well as other more general government failures; Describe the US taxation and budgeting system and list the most important areas of spending; Discuss current controversies related to taxation and government spending. (Economics 305)

Subject:

Social Sciences

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Collection:

Saylor Foundation