Public Finance

Catalog description

This course will examine the roles of government in modern, market-oriented, mixed economies. It will examine justifications for government participation in resource allocation, income distribution, and economic stabilization focusing primarily on the fiscal functions of government, taxation and public expenditure. Students will apply basic microeconomic analysis to analyze the impacts of public taxation and expenditures on economic decisions made elsewhere in the economy. In this course the emphasis will be on understanding the workings of public finance in fiscal federalist systems like the United States, but the principles taught will be applicable across other economic systems. Prerequisites: ECON 2120G or ECON 2120H