Catalog

Public Finance and Public Policy

Economics MIT CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 24 lectures

This course explores the role of government in the economy, applying tools of basic microeconomics to answer important policy questions. Topics include the government response to global warming, school choice by K-12 students, Social Security versus private retirement savings accounts, government versus private health insurance, setting income tax rates for individuals and corporations.  The course aims to provide an understanding of the reasons for government intervention in the economy, the extent of that intervention, and the response of private agents to the government’s actions.

Syllabus

  1. 1 Lecture 01: Why Study Public Finance?
  2. 2 Lecture 02: Externalities in Theory
  3. 3 Lecture 03: Externalities in Theory & Practice
  4. 4 Lecture 04: Externalities in Practice II
  5. 5 Lecture 05: Public Goods Theory, Optimality, and Pricing
  6. 6 Lecture 06: Cost/Benefit Analysis
  7. 7 Lecture 07: Political Economy
  8. 8 Lecture 08: Local Public Goods and Fiscal Federalism
  9. 9 Lecture 09: Public Provision of Private Goods: Education
  10. 10 Lecture 10: Social Insurance Theory
  11. 11 Lecture 11: Social Security
  12. 12 Lecture 12: Other Social Insurance Programs
  13. 13 Lecture 13: Health Care I
  14. 14 Lecture 14: Health Care II
  15. 15 Lecture 15: Health Care III, Redistribution
  16. 16 Lecture 16: Redistribution and Welfare Policy
  17. 17 Lecture 17: Redistribution and Welfare, Taxation Overview
  18. 18 Lecture 18: Overview of Taxation and Tax Base, Tax Incidence
  19. 19 Lecture 19: Tax Incidence and Tax Efficiency
  20. 20 Lecture 20: Taxation and Labor Supply
  21. 21 Lecture 21: Taxation and Savings
  22. 22 Lecture 22: Wealth Taxation
  23. 23 Lecture 23: Corporate Taxation
  24. 24 Lecture 24: Corporate Taxation and Tax Reform

Course materials