Public Finance II (耶鲁大学, Philippe De Donder).pdf

Economics 681b Public Finance II Spring 2008 Philippe De Donder Mon, Wed. 3:30-4:50 philippe.dedonder@ Office hours: Tues 10-12, or by appointment Room: 18B, 27 Hillhouse Ave. Course Description: Public economics is concerned with the role that governments play in the economy and the lives of its citizens. There are two ways to assess this role: a normative one, that tries to devise the optimal government intervention, and a positive one, that rather tries to understand why it is that we observe certain (often non second-best optimal) public policies. This course will consider both approaches in turn. The first part of the course is devoted to the positive approach, and mainly to the democratic determination of tax and transfers programs. The main tax program considered is income taxation. On the expenditure side, we will look at public provision of private goods, and at various social insurance programs, like social security, health insurance and unemployment. The second part of the course is concerned with the classical approach to public economics, which tries to assess the normative properties of various government programs and tax systems. We will cover in turn indirect taxation, income taxation, taxation of savings, environmental taxation and the provision of public goods. Main references: The first part of the class will mainly