Public Finance

This course will endow you with the tools to understand the economics of taxation. We will deal with important policy issues:
• How should the government raise a given amount of taxes?
• What are the efficiency and equity consequences of tax policy?
• What are the main challenges in the design of taxes?
The course does not deal with the reasons for government intervention (they are covered in Microeconomic courses), nor with the expenditure side of the public sector (there are several courses devoted to that: education, health, etc.).