PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMICS

ECONOMICS 411-Fall 2008

Course Schedule, Announcements and Related Material

Updated on August 2008  by J. Fred Giertz

The schedule reviews material that has been covered in previous classes and topics to be addressed in the upcoming lectures.

The schedule will be revised periodically.

Month

Day

 

Coverage

August

26

Tuesday

First Class--introduction and procedural details

August

28

Thursday

What is public finance and how does it relate to economics in general? (Ch. 1-2, Ch.3--pp. 45-48 only and Appendix  pp. 558-560)

September

2

Tuesday

The role of the market and the role of government and the growth of government (Ch. 1-2, Ch.3--pp. 46-50 only and Appendix  pp. 563-565) Big Government Is Bigger Than You Think  and  The "True" Size of Government--2003)

September

4

Thursday

The role of the market and the role of government;  Begin private and public goods (Ch. 4)

September

9

Tuesday

Private and public goods: efficiency and equilibrium (Ch. 4) Fund Raising in Vermont

September

11

Thursday

Public goods continue. (Ch. 4) Sharing the Cost of Defense Spending,

September

16

Tuesday

Begin externalities (Ch. 5) Coase: Nobel Prize Citation, Road Pricing in Stockholm, Congestion Pricing in London, Market-Based Approaches to Environmental Policy, Quick Facts on Cap-and-Trade Policies to Reduce Carbon Emissions

September

18

Thursday

Complete externalities.  Begin public choice (Ch. 6) Pliny, Voting and Impeachment, James Buchanan: Nobel Prize Citation, and Amartya Sen: Nobel Prize Citation 

September

23

Tuesday

Public choice.

September

25

Thursday

No Class—Dismissed for extra time for out-of-class exams

September

30

Tuesday

Complete public choice, begin benefit-cost analysis (Ch. 8) 
October 1 Wednesday FIRST EXAMINATION Coverage: Chapters 1-6 (Ch.3--pp. 45-48 only) &Appendix  (pp. 563-565) The exam will be in 134 Temple Buell Auditorium from 7:00-9:00 PM.

October

2

Thursday

Complete benefit-cost analysis (Ch. 8), begin Redistribution (Ch. 12 )  Class Action:  The Causes and Consequence of Increasing U. S. Inequality, Economic Inequality in the United States

October

7

Tuesday

Redistribution continues, programs for the poor (Ch.13) How Are We Doing?

October

9

Thursday

Redistribution (Ch. 13) 

October

14

Tuesday

Conclude redistribution, education (Ch. 7) and health care (Chs. 9-10)   Asymmetric Information and Insurance Markets

October

16

Thursday

Health care continues.

October

21

Tuesday

Social security (Ch. 11) Rates of Return from Social Security, Has Social Security Ever Been Raided-Interview with Robert Reischauer

October

23

Thursday

Conclude social security Report of Presidential Social Security Commission,  Perspectives from the President’s Commission on Social Security Reform Invest social security, but don’t privatize--Modigliani and Can The Stock Market Save Social Security? , Brookings PanelSocial Security Reform Forum--Audio and Visual  

Begin taxation (Chs. 14-16)

October

28

Tuesday

No Class—Dismissed for extra time for out-of-class exams

October

30

Thursday

Continue taxation (Chs. 14- 16)
November

4

Tuesday

Continue introduction to taxation  On-line video presentation-Lincoln Institute of Land Policy:  Giertz

November 5 Wednesday

 

SECOND EXAMINATION Coverage: Chapters 7-13.    The exam will be in 134 Temple Buell Auditorium from 7:00-9:00 PM.

November

6

Thursday

Conclude introduction to taxation    Begin individual income tax (Ch. 17-18)

November

11

Tuesday

Individual income tax (Ch. 17-18) and supplementary on reserve: Slemrod and Bakija, and  If Americans Really Understood the Income Tax , Income Tax Burdens by Income.

November

13

Thursday

Individual income tax  First Income Tax Return; Economic Report of President--Tax Chapter 2006 and Taxes in the 1940s

November

18

Tuesday

Conclude income tax.   Corporate and business taxation (Ch. 19)

November

20

Thursday

No Class—Dismissed for extra time for out-of-class exams
November

25

Tuesday

No Class—Thanksgiving Vacation

November

27

Thursday

No Class—Thanksgiving Vacation

December

2

Tuesday

Conclude corporate and business taxation, begin consumption taxes (Ch. 21)

December

4

Thursday

Consumption taxes including expenditure taxes and general sales taxes (Ch. 21)
December

9

Tuesday

Last Class    Property taxes and death and gift taxes (Ch. 21 and Ch. 22-pp. 521-528)  

December ? ? Special Study Session: 

December

15

Monday

FINAL EXAMINATION Coverage: Chapters 14-19 and 21 and 22 (pp. 521-528). The exam will be held from 8:300-10:30 AM, in the regular classroom.  Paper due for graduate students. 

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