PUBLIC FINANCE

Knowledge and understanding. The course provides normative and positive tools for understanding public intervention, its effects on the allocation and the distribution of resources as well as the economic characteristics of the public sector, with particular attention to Italy. Through the study of these topics students will be able to understand the changing patterns of public intervention in the second half of the twentieth century and in more recent years. In addition, students will be able to develop their understanding of the evolution of government and of its various instruments (expenditure, taxes and regulation); time will be devoted to classroom discussion and activities, such as the reading of official documents and Reports. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. Students, through the analysis of official documents and data, will be able to understand the implications of policy instruments (taxes, spending and regulation) and to apply this knowledge to the analysis of case studies. Furthermore, the study of different theoretical approaches and the critical evaluation of their policy implications will enable students to improve their capacity for judgment and proposal in relation to the analysis of the various policy tools.

Lectures with power point presentation, discussions in class and analysis of case studies.

Learning objectives

The course aims at providing analytical and methodological knowledge to interpret the characteristics of public intervention in terms of allocation and distribution of resources.

Knowledge and understanding. The course presents normative and positive tools for understanding public intervention, its effects on the allocation and the distribution of resources as well as the economic characteristics of the public sector, with particular attention to Italy.

Through the study of these topics students will be able to understand the changing patterns of public intervention and the economic features and the role of the various instruments available to policymakers -expenditure, taxes and regulation-.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. Students, through the analysis of official documents and data, will be able to understand the implications of policy instruments (taxes, spending and regulation) and to apply this knowledge to the analysis of case studies.

Making judgements. The study of different theoretical approaches, the critical evaluation of their policy implications as well as the use of information from various types of multidisciplinary sources will enable students to improve their capacity for judgment and proposal in relation to the various policy tools.

Communication skills. The presentation of theoretical and empirical issues referring to the role of the public sector will allow students to acquire adequate technical terminology; oral and written communication skills will be also stimulated through classroom activities - such as discussion and seminars- and final examinations.

Learning skills Students learning skills will be stimulated through power point presentations and discussions, aimed at verifying the understanding of the topics presented in the lectures. The use of additional didactic material (official documents, economic newspapers) will also stimulate students’ skills.

The following topics are investigated:

• functions and structure of the public sector

• public goods and collective action

• market failure and corrective tools

• institutions and collective decision-making process

• organization and functioning of bureaucracy

• regulation of economic activities

• economic analysis of corruption

• State budget

• inequality and poverty

• welfare state and expenditure policies: pensions andhealth

• public sector financing: taxes and public debt

• theory of fiscal federalism and the Italian local autonomies system

1. G. BROSIO, Economia pubblica moderna, Giappichelli, Torino, 2010: chapters 1, 2 (except par. 15 and 16), 3, 4, 5 (except par. 8), 6, 8, 9 and 12.

2. A. BALESTRINO – E. GALLI – L. SPATARO, Scienza delle finanze, UTET, 2015: Part II, chapter 4; Part III, chapter 1; Part IV, chapters 2 and 3 (except Box IV.3.1 and par. IV.3.5.4); Part VI, chapters 1, 2 and 3.