SYLLABUS OF PUBLIC FINANCE
Instructor: LIN QIAN
Email:linqian2000@gmail.com
Text Book
Public Finance Harvey.S.Rosen Mcgraw.hill 9th Edition
References
1、Auerbach, A., and M. Feldstein. Handbook of Public Economics. Vol. 3. Amsterdam, North Holland, 2002
2、Myles, G. Public Economics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
3、Salanie, B.Economics of Taxation. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002.
DESCRIPTION
Public Finance 9/e" benefits from the combined efforts of Harvey Rosen's market-leading book and co-author Ted Gayer's research and government agency experience. This combination of experience is able to explain as clearly as possible how the tools of economics can be used to analyze government expenditure and tax policies. After the completion of the whole course, the students are supposed to 1. Comprehend and master the activities of government and their influence on the allocation of resources and distribution of income 2. Be familiar with using the basic principle to analyze the public finance problem
OBJECTIVES
After the completion of the whole course, the students are supposed to comprehend and master the activities of government and their influence on the allocation of resources and distribution of income, and are familiar with using the basic principle to analyze the public finance problem. The Teaching Focus on the basic principaland the analysis method. And the difficult points is how to link the theory with the practices
Course Assessment
Class Attendance: 10%. Responsible attendance is expected of each individual enrolled in this course. I will circulate a sign-up sheet every day that we are scheduled to meet and you will forfeit one full percentage point for every unexcused absence beyond three. If you miss a lecture you are responsible for obtaining any missed notes and/or handouts on your own unless you are officially excused.
You may be officially excused from a class meeting for one of four reasons: (1) You have an illness that prevents you from attending class and a doctor's note to that effect; (2) You have a personal emergency like a death in the family and are either excused before class or can document the emergency afterwards; (3) You have a university sponsored obligation (participation in a sporting event or student organization sponsored project) and are excused before the examination or case presentation; or, (4) You have the absence officially excused in writing by the Dean of Economics & Management.
Group/individual presentation & Class discussion: 20%. (Mid-term Exam) Students will be assigned presentations on the course topics, and are encouraged to actively participate in the class discussion.
Assignment: 20%. The students should finish the assignments such as key concepts, questions for review, problems and application in the related chapters, and hand in them on time.
Examinations: There will be 2 examinations (please note specific days and dates listed in the calendar) including the Midterm and Final examinations during this semester. Midterm Exam will be worth 20%, while the Final will be worth 50%. The questions will come from the assigned reading material, the lecture notes, as well as class discussions and exercises. Test paper will be presented with defining, multiple choice, true/false, short essay, and long essay questions.
Class Schedule and Home Assignments
Teaching Contents | Teaching Methods | Home Assignments | Teaching Hours | ||
Week 1-2 | Chapter1&2
1. Has a collection of basic “facts”—facts on government fiscal institution; 2. master public finance and ideology | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 3-4 | Chapter 3
1. Pure exchange economy 2. Production economy 3. The first fundamental theorem of welfare economics 4. Fairness and the second fundamental theorem of welfare economics 5. The market failure | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 5-6 | Chapter 4
1. Public goods defined 2. Deriving the efficiency contribution 3. Problems in achieving efficiency 4. The free rider problem | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 7-8 | Chapter 5
1. The nature of externalities 2. Graphical analysis 3. Private responses 4. Public responses 5.positive externalities 6. Discussion | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 9-10 |
Political Economy 1. Unanimity rules 2. Majority voting rules 3.logrolling 4.arrow’s impossibility theorem 5. Representative democracy 6. Government growth | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 11-12 |
Income Redistribution: Conceptual Issues 1. Distribution of income, positive analysis 2. Rational for income redistribution 3. Public expenditure incidence 4. Comment and summary | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 13-14 |
Expenditure Programs for the Poor 1. Introduction the US welfare spending system 2. Economic foundation for income maintenance programs 3. The earned income tax credit 4. Medicaid 5. Food stamps 6. Housing assistance | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 15 |
Social Insurance I: Social Security and Unemployment Insurance 1. Why have social insurance 2. Structure of social security 3. Effects on economic behavior 4-long-term stresses on social security; social security reform 5. Unemployment insurance 6. What’s special about health care 7. The US health care market 8. The role of government | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 16-17 | Chapter 11&12 Cost-Benefit Analysis&Taxation and Income Distribution 1. Present value 2. Private sector project evaluation 3. Discount rate for government projects 4. Valuing public benefits and costs 5. Application of CBA 6.other considerations to CBA | Lecturing | Question in the textbook | 3 | |
Week 18 | General Review and Final Examination | Lecturing | |||
Total Hours | 54 | ||||