Government's economic role, with discussions of what governments should (or shouldn't) do, and of what they do in fact. Major tax and spending programs are critically examined, and proposals for changing them are considered.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: A course project or additional exam will be required of graduate students.
Athena Title
Public Sector Economics
Prerequisite
ECON 4010
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will identify and characterize the extent to which specific public policies have the capacity to help or harm people and firms.
Students will use economic tools to quantify the costs and benefits associated with possible government interventions in markets that involve externalities, uncertainty, and private- versus public goods.
Students will use economic tools to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the ways that decisions made by one individual can impact the well-being of others, in contexts such as pollution, public goods provision, and risk-pooling in insurance markets.
Topical Outline
Empirical Tools
Evaluation of Private Markets
Public Goods
Externalities
Actual Government Behavior
Social Security
Welfare Policy
Effects on Price of Taxation
Effects on Behavior of Taxation
Optimal Taxation
The U.S. Income Tax
Responses to Tax Incentives
Consumption and Wealth Taxes
Corporate Taxes
State and Local Taxes
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
