ECON 445Public Economics

Catalog

Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in ECON 360; also grades of C or better in college-level statistics and calculus (MATH 220 or 224/225). 4 Cr. Course Summary: This course studies the government's economic roles or the public sectors of an economy. The topics covered by the course are in two broad categories: government revenues and expenditure. On the revenue side, we learn about taxation in theory and the real world; on the expenditure side, we examine the theory of public good provisions and various government spending projects in practice. The course also analyzes public sectors from a public choice perspective: voting and democracy. In addition to building a better understanding of the government from an economic angle, the course aims at enhancing students' abilities in public policy analysis. Grading: Homework (20%), Midterm (20%), Quizzes (20%), Final Exam (30%) Course format: Combined lectures, interactive discussions, Integrated descriptive and quantitative approach.