ECOS3011 - Public Finance

Semester 2, 2013  |  Credit Points: 6

Coordinator: Stephen Patrick Whelan
Phone: +61 2 9036 9251
Email: stephen.whelan@sydney.edu.au

Description

Public Finance is about the taxing and spending decisions of governments. The unit covers a wide range of public finance topics. After an introduction to welfare economics and the role of government in the economy, the unit focuses on the revenue side of the budget: tax incidence, efficient and equitable taxation, the Australian system of revenue raising, issues of tax reform and the theory and practice of public utility pricing. It then focuses on the expenditure side of the government budget: public goods, externalities, and programs aimed at redistribution. It also introduces techniques of policy evaluation.

Assessments

mid-semester test (20%), assignment (30%) and 3hr final exam (50%)

Classes

1x2-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/fortnight

Prerequisites

Either (ECOS2001 or ECON2001) or (ECOS2901 or ECON2901)

Prohibitions

ECON3011

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