Prerequisites: 90-736 Public Finance. The purpose of this course is to introduce professional masters students to: 1. The principles of finance which should govern the manner in which the federal and sub-federal governments pay for the provision of sub-federal public services; significant emphasis will be placed on the evolution of federal systems around the world; 2. Theories which seek to explain the behavior of sub-federal governments as will as confirmatory evidence in support of such theories; 3. Characterizations of the professional and political environments which students will face in such governments upon working there. Where appropriate, comparisons will be drawn from overseas as well as the U.S., and Pennsylvania. The course assumes that each student has had a course in micro-economics, economic statistics, and is familiar with the use of a spreadsheet and regression package on a personal computer. Also it is assumed that each student has had a course in public finance, and is familiar with the material in the Musgrave and Musgrave text, Public Finance in Theory and Practice. Students who have not had 90-736 should expect to read this text in parallel with the course. Many of the principles of public finance, e.g. efficiency and equity, are applicable in the study of sub-federal governments. Items noted with an asterisk in the reading list will be more emphasized in the course.
