Course Syllabus

Public Finance: European Perspectives

 

Semester & Location:	Fall 2017 - DIS Stockholm
Type & Credits:	Core Course - 3 credits
Core Course Study Tours:	Frankfurt, Strasbourg
Major Disciplines:	Economics, Finance, and Political Science
Faculty Members:	Jim Breen
Program Director:	Susanne Goul Hovmand - sgh@dis.dk
Time & Place:	Mondays and Thursdays 14:50 - 16:10 Room: 1D-410

Description of Course

This course explores the role of public institutions in the economies of advanced industrialized countries, taking a comparative look at a variety of systems for the provision of public services with respect to taxation, social benefits, unemployment, health care, public pension schemes, parental leave, childcare, and education. We will consider a variety of microeconomic tools, using these to analyze current policy debates in Scandinavia.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course you will:

1. Be able to apply microeconomic tools to the analysis of a number of key government functions,
2. Understand various approaches to taxation, the implications of such approaches, as well as their advantages, and disadvantages,
3. Be conversant with the tools govenments use in their attempts to enhance economic growth at a regional and sub-regional level, 
4. Have a thorough understanding of future values and how this can be applied through cost benefit analysis across a number of economic and policy areas.

 

Faculty

The lecturer has been a professional economist working with the UN, governments, private companies, and social organisations for a number of years across Europe and Africa.  He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California (Santa Cruz and Berkeley) and his postgraduate work at the London School of Economics.

 

Readings

Required Text: Harvey S. Rosen & Ted Gayer, Public Finance, 10th (Global) Edition, McGraw Hill Education

There will be additional readings and videos for the classes.  Details are provided in the entry for each individual class session.

 

Field Studies

There will be a field trip to a Stockholm organisation to discuss how the government seeks to shape people's economic lives on a day to day basis.  This will provide students with the opportunity to discuss current Swedish policies as they relate to the private sector in general and individuals in particular.

Approach to Teaching

We will first seek to provide students with the fundamental economic tools needed to better understand the functions of public finance.  We will then use these tools to look at various governement approaches in order to evaluate efficiency, equity, and the facillitation or sqeezing out of private enterprise.

Pre-class quizzes will be used as a way to check students' comprehension of course material before we use our understanding of that materíal to analyse and discuss current issues in class.  Material from the textbook will be supplemented with videos and journal articles.  We will generally conclude each class by together going through some of the exercises that are found at the end of each chapter in your textbook. 

As such, the teaching approach is to use established economic thinking and approaches to examine day to day issues that affect and will continue to affect your life.  A significant aim of this course is to leave you with a template for probelm solving, applicable to many aspects of modern day living.

 

Expectations of the Students

Students will be expected to actively participate in ‘telling stories’ of how the theoretical models are expected to play out in real life.  Each will support and enhance the learning of their fellows in class. Students shall come prepared with their own views and opinions to each session, and at times will be required to work in groups.

Each student will be responsible for 2 seperate presentations to the class as well as for contributing to one group research topic and an in-class debate.  Active engagement in classroom discussion is a key prerequisite to a good grade in this course. 

 

Note on Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom:

Laptop computers as well as tablets may be used, however only for the purpose of writing notes on classroom material. The use of other electronic devices such as mobile phones is prohibited.  Students found using electronic devices for other purposes than intended for the class will receive an “F” for their participation grade.  There are 168 hours in any given week: this couse will take up only 2.5 of them in class time.

Evaluation

In this class you will be evaluated on how well you can assimilate the tools and ideas presented and then use them to interpret the world around us.  To that end it will be essential for you to learn material prior to class.  This will enable us to use as much classroom time as possible,  not for the acqusition of theory, but rather for using ideas and concepts to analyse and understand contemporary issues.

As part of that process, there will at times be quizzes set prior to class. 

 

Components of the Course Grade

 

1.  Class participation This component covers active participation in class, performance in small assignments, feedback and questions on fellow students presentations (see #2 and #5 below), and pre-class quizzes. Participation is not to be confused with mere attendance during the semester. A qualitative judgment of your contribution will be made by the instructor, and improper use of computers in class can for instance affect this assessment.	20%
2.  Pre core course week and study tour presentations Students will make two class presentations on organizations we will visit. The purpose of the presentation is to brief your colleagues for the visit as well as to provide some insight into the types of things we should consider or ask about while there.  You will also take part in an in-class debate.	15%
3.  Midterm Examination There will be a midterm exam with questions on the lectures, student presentations, videos, and readings from the first half of the term. Any material covered in Classes 1 through 8 is fair game for the exam. It is a closed-book exam that will last 1 hour. The exam will take place on September 28th.	15%
4.  Final Examination This exam is similar to the first exam, but covers all material from the entire course. Any material covered in any lecture is fair game for the exam. It is a closed-book exam that will last 1 hour. The exam will take place on November 9th.	20%
5.  Final Presentation - Project Proposals Students will in groups make a proposal for an amendment to an existing program or for a new program to become part of the USA's federal budget from the beginning of January 2018.  The rest of the class will role play as the US House of Representatives.  Students will therefore need to outline the costs, benefits, source of funding and impact on the Federal budget for the following 10 years.  Professionalism, structured thinking, and application of the theories in the course are necessary requirements for a good grade here. Topics for the presentation will be agreed with the instructor by 26 September. Presentations will take place in class on 26 October and 6 November.  Students are reminded that their comments as 'members of Congress' will count toward their class participation grade.	30%

 

Disability and Resource Statement  

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Academic Support (acadsupp@dis.dk) to coordinate this.  In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes.

 

Policies

 

Attendance

You are expected to attend all classes, guest lectures, workshops and field studies. If you must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or other valid reasons, you must let us know as far in advance as possible of the absence and obtain information about the work you must do to keep up in class. If you miss a class for any other reason (sudden illness, family emergency, etc.), you should get in touch with us as soon as possible and arrange to make up the work missed.

It is crucial for your learning that you stay on task and hand in assignments on or before the due date. All work– including in-class projects – have to be completed in order to pass the class. Late papers or projects will be marked down with 1/3 of a grade for each day it is late.

You are expected to attend all DIS classes when scheduled.  If you miss two classes the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student Affairs will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well.  Absences will jeopardize your grade and your standing at DIS.  Allowances will be made in cases of illness, but you will need to provide a doctor’s note.

 

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism and Violating the Rules of an Assignment

DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others.   Academic dishonesty will result in a final course grade of “F” and can result in dismissal. The students’ home universities will be notified. DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software.  See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.

 

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