ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC FINANCE
Spring 2006 GSPA course PAD 5004
Thursday from 4:00-6:45pm, NC 1312
Robert ReichardtTel: 303-803-4412 (cell)
Fax: 303-596-5971e-mail:
(preferred) or
Office hours: by appointmentOffice: LW-440
Economics is a social science disapline that provides valuable tools to the policy for understanding the choices people make and the effects of public choices. Economics provides an essential theoretical framework for analyzing the allocation and distribution of resources within our society.
The purpose of this course is to give you the basic background in economics to understand how tools from economics can be applied to public and private choices. This framework will then be applied to the policy mechanisms we use to publicly allocate resources, i.e. taxation and budgeting.
The end goal of this course to help prepare you to analyze policy and policy decisions for decisionmakers.
The course requirements and grading percentages are as follows:
1. Writinga policy analysis & budget analysis memos(20% each or 40 % total of final grade) Clear and concise writing is one of the most important skills in public affairs. These short papers provide policy advice and analysis to a policymaker (executive or legislative).The policy analysis memo can be no more than 3 pages (single spaced) and will be graded using the attached rubric. It should apply key elements of class themes to a policy decision of your own choice. In addition to your own thought process, you must also utilize your research skills to tap into other materials. The main goal of this paper is for you to demonstrate some cleareconomic thinking and writing about a specific policy decision at the local, state, or national level.
We will be a reviewing a state or local budget to examine the level at which it adheres with the Government Finance Officers Association ( best practices in public budgeting. You are required to locate your own budget to evaluate. You should use the standards from GFOA for evaluating the budget and write a memo that summarizes your analysis of a budget. This analysis should be short & no longer than 5 (single spaced) pages.
For both papers, please note that GSPA has an academic ethics and paper plagiarism policy posted on the GSPA website. To encourage your broader learning, the topics of these two papers should be different.
2. Exams(35% of final grade)The exams will include a mix of questions including multiple-guess, short-answer and longer economic policy analyses. Students with any disability that affects their exam-taking should let me know.
3. Class participation: (10%, based upon quality and quantity). This is partly a seminar and your class participation matters a great deal. Please read the material for each week, prior to that class session, so that we can have an informed discussion about the topic. Attendance will be part of this grade. Everyone can miss up to 3 classes without affecting this portion of their grade.
We will use two books, nearly in their entirety and additional outside readings to be provided throughout the course. The primary source of content for this course will be Gruber book supplemented by additional outside readings. I expect to add readings throughout the course.
Gruber, Jonathon. Public Finance and Public Policy. 1st Edition. 2005. Worth Publishers. 704 pages [ISBN 0393966518]
CQ Press. Issues for Debate in American Public Policy. 7th Edition. 2006. CQ Press, Washington, DC. [ISBN 1-933116-03-X]
Debates: (15 %, of total grade). These debates will be based upon material from the CQ Press book, and any additional research you would like to do. They will be based upon teams of (3) students working together, and limited to a short presentation for which students should prepare, followed by a couple of brief rebuttal rounds, and then broader class questions and comments. In all 7 debates scheduled, The “Pro” position in the debates means more government activity, “Con” means greater reliance on markets.
Final grade: Grades in this class will be awarded based on the following scale:
A = 92.0-100
A- = 90.0-91.9
B+ = 88.0-89.9
B = 82.0-87.9
B- = 80.0 81.9
C+ = 78.0-79.9
C = 72.0-77.9
C- = 70.0 -71.9
D and below using same scale as above
Schedule of Topics and Readings(all Gruber,unless noted)
Jan. 18th
(Class 1)Introductions; Review of Course Content; Basics of Public Sector Economics
& presentations
Read:Chapter 1, “Why Study Public Finance?”
Policy analysts role in government, Canadian school of public service:
McDonnell & Elmore (1987) Alternative Policy Instruments
Jan 25
(Class 2)Welfare Economics – When and Why Markets work well
Read:Chapter 2, “Theoretical Tools of Public Finance”
Chapter 3, “Empirical Tools of Public Finance”
Feb 1
(Class 3)When Markets Don’t Work (as) Well - Market Failures
Debate 1 Topic: CQCh 8 & 9“The government should increase domestic
energy production?
Read:Chapter 5, “Externalities”;
Chapter 7, “Public Goods”
Theory of Nonmarket Failure: Framework for Implementation Analysis Charles Wolf, Jr.
Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Apr., 1979), pp. 107-139
Feb 8
(Class 4)Addressing Market Failures
Debate 2 Topic: CQ Ch 1 & 2“The federal government should improve the
learning of children?”
Read: Chapter 6, “Externalities in Action”;
Chapter 11, “Education”
Feb 15
(Class 5)Beyond Market Failures – Equity and Other Intervention Rationales
Debate 3 Topic: Chapter 7: "The minimum wage should be increased?"
Read:Chapter 12, “Social Insurance”
Chapter 13, “Social Security”
Chapter 14, “Unemployment Insurance”
Chapter 15 &16, “Health Insurance I and II”
Chapter 17, “Income Distribution”
Feb 22
(Class 6)
Public Choice, Expenditure Theory and Bureaucracy
Debate 4 Topic: CQ Ch 3 “Drug regulation should be beefed up”
Read:Chapter 9, “Political Economy”
March 1
(Class 8)Taxation Theory
Debate 5 Topic: CQ Ch 5 & 12 “The government should do more to support the
poor and vulnerable (including retirees)?”
Read:Chapter 18, “Taxation in the U.S. and Around the World”
Chapter 19, “Tax Incidence”;
Chapter 20, “Optimal Taxation”
March 8
(Class 9)”Taxation Practice: Federal Income and Capital Taxation
Debate 6 topic CQ Ch 13 "The federal government should rebuild New Orleans?"
Read:Chapter 21, “Taxes on Labor Supply”
Chapter 22, “Taxes on Savings”
Chapter 23, “Taxes on Risk Taking and Wealth”
Chapter 24, “Corporate Taxation”
Chapter 25, “Tax Reform”
March 15
(Class 10)Policy analysis memo due
Debate 7 topicCQ Ch 15 "Illegal immigration should be stopped?"
Public Expenditure Analysis
Read:Chapter 4, “Tools of Budget Analysis”
Chapter 8, “Cost-Benefit Analysis”
NO CLASSES SPRING BREAK March 19-25 – Enjoy !
March 29
(Class 11)State and Local Public Finance; and Fiscal Federalism
Read:Chapter 10, “State and Local Government Expenditures”
Chapter 11, Education
April 5
(week 12)Budgeting: State & local budgets
GFOA, Best practices in budgeting:
April 12
(week 13)Federal Budgeting
Center on Budget Priorities:
April 19Discussion of budget reviews
(week 14)Budget analysis memo due
April 27
(week 15)TBD
May 3
Final
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