Public Finance in Theory and Practice
DEV 210
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Examines policy options, with their strategic trade-offs and operational implications, for the design and implementation of public finance in both high-income countries and developing/transitional economies. Covers the role and size of the public sector, including the rationale for public sector interventions such as market failure and distributional concerns; public resource mobilization via direct and indirect taxation, including the economics of taxation, taxation of income, wealth, and consumption, environmental taxation, tax incentives, tax compliance and enforcement, tax amnesties, and tax reform, as well as user charges; public expenditure policy, including assessment of government social protection programs and public sector efficiency and effectiveness; and fiscal decentralization and intergovernmental fiscal relations. Also examines balanced budgets, deficit financing, debt management, fiscal consolidation, and fiscal sustainability in the context of economic crises and the debate over fiscal stimulus vs. fiscal austerity policies. Emphasizes utilization of theoretical and applied techniques in a comparative context for evaluation of the impact of alternative resource mobilization and expenditure policies on economic growth and stability, allocative efficiency, and social equity. Heavy use of case studies.
Course Notes
No economics or statistics course prerequisites – both economists and non-economists are welcome. Meets the “Strategic Management” requirement for the MLD Certificate. Also approved for the "Data and Research Methods Pathway" (this STEM-designated track allows international students to apply to DHS for an extension of their OPT). To see a short VIDEO describing this course, please follow this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ycl06tevc&feature=relmfu.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
