Course Syllabus

Public Finance: European Perspectives

DIS Logo

Assemblée NationaleParliamentReichstag

 

Semester & Location:

Spring 2018 - 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, 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 governments 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

Required Articles and Other Media on Canvas:

Anechiarico, F. et al. (2017) ”Swedish Nursing Home Scandal 2011” in Legal but Corrupt: A New Perspective on Public Ethics. London: Lexington Books. pages 36 - 43

Dahlgren, G. (2014) Why Public Health Service? International Journal of Health Services, Volume 44, Number 3. pages 507–524

Goodman, J. and Loveman, G. (Nov – Dec 1991) “Does Privatization Serve the Public Interest?” Harvard Business Review

Jonning, L. (2009). "The Swedish Model for Resolving the Banking Crisis of 1991-93: Seven reasons why it was successful." European Commission, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs Economic Paper 360

Roberts, D. (2012, September 24) ”Discount rates: A boring thing you should know about (with otters!)”. Grist

Rubin, R and Hughes, S. (2017, December 2) Senate Passes Sweeping Revision of U.S. Tax Code.  Wall Street Journal

Taylor, J. (2006) Nordhaus vs. Stern. Cato Institute. Cato at Liberty.

 

Field Studies

1. Wednesday, 17 January 09:00 - 12:00.  Public Spaces, design and ownership.  This will be a guided field trip around Stockholm to see how both the government and the private sector seek to shape the physical and cultural environment of the city.  This will provide students with the opportunity to consider the way the overall remit of government is defined differently in Scandinavia and the US. Followed by lunch.

2. Wednesday 21 February 09:00 - 12:00.  Our second field study will take us to the Parliament buildings to speak with a senior Swedish politician about current policy priorities.

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 government approaches in order to evaluate efficiency, equity, and the facilitation or squeezing 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 material 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 problem 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 an individual 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 course 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 generally 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). 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-class Quizzes

Most classes will be preceded by a quiz covering the assigned reading/viewing/listening.  The quizzes will be on Canvas and there due dates and times are published there.

10%

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.

 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 February 22nd.

15%

4.  Final Examination

This exam is similar to the mid-term 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 April 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 12 March. Presentations will take place in class on 5 April.  Students are reminded that their comments as 'members of Congress' will count toward their class participation grade.

20%

 

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

 

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org

Course Summary:

Date Details Due