B001223 - PUBLIC FINANCE (ADVANCED COURSE)

Italian

The course focuses on inequality and on the effect of taxes and subsidies as tools to improve income distribution; international taxation principles and the role of globalization on the countries’ revenue raising potential will also be discussed. On the final part, the link between budget procedures and budget outcomes will be analyzed in the framework of national and European budget process.

This course uses the e-learning platform MOODLE, where the detailed program is available. Among main references (chapters and paragraphs to be included in the programme on MOODLE):
Baldini M. Toso S. (2009), Diseguaglianza, povertà e politiche Pubbliche, Il mulino (*);
Bosi P.,2019, Corso di Scienza delle Finanze, Il Mulino (*)
Hindriks J., Myles G. (2013), Intermediate Public Finance, The MIT Press, Second Edition
European Commission, Public finance in EMU,
IMF (2016), Fragmented Politics and Public Debt1, IMF wp 160
Piketty T. Saez E. (2014) Inequality in the long run, Review su Science VOL 344 ISSUE 6186
Piketty T. (2018), Brahmin Left vs Merchant Right: Rising Inequality & the Changing Structure of Political Conflict, World Inequality Lab
Zucman G. (2019), Global wealth inequality, NBER Working Paper 25462
(*) On request, Italian references can be replaced by English references

Oral presentation based on a reading list available on moodle and on one article of the draft budget law.

Knowledge: to provide students with the knoledge and the tools to design and to interpret tax policies, and to understand the structure and the process of budget of public institutions. The course aim at giving the ability of applying critical thinking and compare different policies. students will have developed the capacity to make a power-point presentation on the most relevant issues of public economics and to express in writing the knowledge gained during the course

Microeconomics, Basic knowledge of Public Economics

Lectures, seminars, student presentations; interactive test of self assesment on moodle e-learning platform.

See e-learning web site (moodle) for programme details, handouts and additional materials

The final exam is different in case of attending or non attending students
Attending students will face three different tasks:
1.Quizzes through mooodle on line platafor (5%)
2.In class presentantion of single/group work (10%)
3.Written test (85%). A midterm written test is available.
Non attending students have two tasks:
1.Written test (90%)
2.Oral discussion on additional readings (10%)

For the written test, identical for attending and non-attending students, candidates must choose 6 on a group of 9 questions presented, without the use of books and notes. The time limit is 2.5 hours. The written test aims to verify the technical knowledge and the critical ability to frame and present the problems presented in the questions.

The course focuses on selected issues of public finance with the usual tools of economic analysis and the discussion of case studies. Starting from the analysis of inequality and its measurements, the role of subsidies and taxes will be explored as a tool to intervene on the distribution of incomes, The optimal direct taxation model will be also considered. The recent implementation of “Reddito di Cittadinanza” and the flat-rate tax proposal will be discussed as case studies. The course will also discuss the role of inequality in election results in Europe and in particular the link between inequality and populism. Indeed, inequality and voter perception are also influenced by tax evasion and globalization, therefore theories of tax evasion and capital taxation in an international context will be analyzed. A specific focus will be dedicated to tax harmonization in Europe with special attention to digital taxation. The last module – for 9 CFU only - focuses on the characteristics and effects of Budget processes, in the light of European tax coordination. The cost-benefit analysis system will be briefly discussed as a method of evaluating public expenditure. The Italian Budget Draft that will be discussed in the autumn parliamentary session will be the final case study.