PPM 730

Public Policy and Management 730/730N

Public Finance

Winter 2007

Instructor: Robert Greenbaum
310N Page Hall

292-9578
E-mail

Assistant: Blair Russell

110L Page Hall

292-9343

E-mail

Credit hours: 5
730: TR: 2:30-4:18P

730N: TR: 5:30-7:18P

Room: Page Hall 10

Office Hours: TR 4:30-5:30 and by appointment

TA Hours : MW 4:00-5:00P and by appointment

Required Textbook For WI 2007:

Jonathan Gruber (2005)

Public Finance and Public Policy

Download: Syllabus (pdf)

Find: Basic Course Information Course Schedule

For Assignments, Readings, and Lectures, please log on to the course at carmen.osu.edu

Basic Information

Prerequisite:

PPM 830, Econ 501A, or equivalent

Course Objectives:

This course builds on the material learned in the microeconomics course, PPM 830, by applying microeconomic tools to the study of the role of the government’s fiscal policies in a mixed economy. The course will first begin with an overview of the role of the public sector in the economy and then proceed with analysis and evaluation of revenue generation methods and expenditure programs. The course will examine in detail a number of the alternatives governments utilize to raise revenues. The course will also examine governmental expenditure programs, including more detailed consideration of programs through group projects.

Course Format:

Class sessions will combine lectures that focus on the relevant material from the textbook readings with student participation. Additional current topical readings will be assigned throughout the term. Some class time will be devoted to student problem solving. Students are required to prepare for class discussions by reading the appropriate textbook and additional readings prior to each class.

Supplemental Materials:

· Textbook Power Point presentations, online quizzes, flashcards, and additional Internet references can be downloaded from: http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/gruber/

Course Requirements and Evaluation:

Grades will be based on an in-class exam, homework assignments, a collaborative group project, and class participation. Students are expected to attend all classes and participate actively in class to get full class participation credit. Any quizzes will count toward the participation grade. Students are reminded to obey all Ohio State rules regarding academic misconduct, which can be found at http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp.

The relative weightings are as follows:

In-class exam (30%)

Homework assignments (30%)

Group project (30%)

Class participation (10%)

Preliminary Course Outline

Class	Date	Topics	Textbook Readings	Turn In
1	4-Jan	Course overview	Gruber Ch 1
2	9-Jan	Microeconomic tools review	Gruber Ch 2
3	11-Jan	Externalities and government policy	Gruber Ch 5-6
4	16-Jan	Public goods and cost benefit analysis	Gruber Ch 7-8	P.P. draft
5	18-Jan	Political Economy	Gruber Ch 9
6	23-Jan	Fiscal Federalism	Gruber Ch 10	HW 1
7	25-Jan	Taxation	Gruber Ch 18
8	30-Jan	Taxation efficiency, equity and incidence	Gruber Ch 19-20
9	1-Feb	Taxes on labor, savings, wealth & corporations	Gruber Ch 21-24	HW 2
10	6-Feb	Tax reform & John Kasich	Gruber Ch 25	P.P. final
	8-Feb	Exam
11	13-Feb	Education & Social insurance	Gruber Ch 11-14
12	15-Feb	Social insurance & Social Security & Sen Glenn	Gruber Ch 12-14
13	20-Feb	Health care	Gruber Ch 15-16	Term Paper
14	22-Feb	Income Inequality and Welfare Policy	Gruber Ch 17
15	27-Feb	Group Debate: 730 Business Tax Incentives; 730N Education (Ch 11)
16	1-Mar	Group Debate: 730 Health care (Ch 15-16); 730N Social Security (Ch 13)
17	6-Mar	Group Debate: 730 Education (Ch 11); 730N Environment
18	8-Mar	Group Debate: 730 Housing policy; 730N Gambling
	13-Mar			HW 3

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