Course Title：Public Finance

This is a course on Public Economics, with a particular focus on the ideas and methods most relevant for understanding the economics of expenditure programs that are designed to redistribute income or to provide social insurance against risks faced by households. These programs include employment insurance, health care, pensions, subsidized housing, and progressive taxation. Such “welfare state” programs comprise a very substantial part of government activities. Understanding the efficiency and equity rationales for the welfare state is therefore fundamental to understanding the economic role of government in the modern economy.