Public Economics

PREREQUISITES: ECON-UA 10 OR ECON-UA 9010 OR ECON-UA 11 OR ECON-UB 1. ALL WITH A MINIMUM GRADE OF C.

In alternate years, stresses policy implications and the development of the theory. Analysis of government economic policies and behavior. Normative and positive economics; the fundamental welfare theorems. What goods should the government provide (public goods)? When should the government tax private behavior (externalities)? Income redistribution and the welfare program. Who pays the tax (tax incidence)? The role of debt policy. On what should taxes be levied (optimal taxation)?