Public Finance (Finance) M - Z
Academic Year 2022/2023 - Teacher: MARCO FERDINANDO MARTORANAExpected Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: students will acquire in-depth knowledge and understanding of the role that the State plays in modern
market economies by means of financial tools and the definition of the game’s rules that all members of the society have to respect as
far as their economic behaviour is concerned. The student will develop the understanding of the complex State’s decision-making
process with regard to allocation, stabilization and redistribution functions.
Applying knowledge and understanding: students will be able to properly evaluate the problems regarding the State’s
presence in an economic system where different subjects, either public or private for-profit or private not-for-profit, interact.
Making judgements: students will acquire the ability to employ the economic approach to formulate their personal opinion,
critical and freestanding, on those aspects that concern the State’s presence in a complex economic system, where subjects are
expected to act in their own self-interest.
Communication skills: students will be able to communicate, in a clear and unambiguous way, to either experts or non-experts,
their opinion concerning the State’s role in the modern economic systems, also through written works, diagrams and graphs,
employing the existing information technologies for the presentation, acquisition and exchange of knowledge. Evaluation of the
communication skills, in a concise and/or analytic form, will take place formally during the written exam, leaving the possibility to
evaluate students’ communication skills also through interactive interventions during the in-class lectures.
Learning skills: students will acquire a high learning capacity that will allow them to be autonomous in the management of their
professional updating process concerning the evaluation of the activities that the State has to undertake in an economic system,
through both budget management and regulation. This type of knowledge is nowadays of increasing importance, mainly because
of the debate on the best way to implement privatization policies.
Course Structure
The
course includes lectures, carried out with the support of slides and
supplementary teaching material that is made available to
students through
the Studium on-line platform. In order to consolidate the understanding of the
topics and the analytical skills of
the students,
during the planned lectures, some classroom exercises will be done. Should
teaching be carried out in mixed mode
or remotely, it
may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in
line with the programme planned
and outlined in
the Syllabus.
Required Prerequisites
No formal prerequisites. A knowledge of the basic concepts of Microeconomics is very useful and is therefore recommended.
Attendance of Lessons
Although not compulsory, it is strongly recommended to attend the lessons
Detailed Course Content
The first part of the course program is dedicated to the study of the general principles of the State’s intervention in the modern market economies. The program goes on with the theory of government revenues, paying special attention to the distortive effects of taxes. The fundamentals of the financial decentralization are also considered. The program ends with the analysis of the reasons for downsizing the State’s intervention within the economic system. The course consists of 20 lectures, each lasting 2 hours
Textbook Information
Balestrino A., Galli E., Spataro L., (2019) Scienza delle Finanze, UTET, Torino: from p. 5 to 49; from p. 73 to 91 (except for section 1.4.4); from p. 112 to 125; from p. 129 to 144; from p. 287 to 357 (excluding paragraphs IV.2.3 and IV.3.3); from p. 366 to 391. Further teaching material, in addition to the aforementioned textbook, will be available on the STUDIUM on-line platform.
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to the study of public intervention in marketeconomie | First part, ch.1 (p 5-24) |
| 2 | Economic tools for the analysis of public intervention | First part, ch 1 (appendix p. 25-34) |
| 3 | Welfare economics and public intervention | First part, ch 1 (p. 5-24) |
| 4 | Reasons for public intervention (first part) | First part, ch 2 (p. 35-49) |
| 5 | Reasons for public intervention (second part) | First part, ch 2 (p. 35-49) |
| 6 | Public goods (second part) | Second part, ch. 1 (p. 73-91; excluding paragraph 1.4.4) |
| 7 | Public goods (second part) | Second part, ch. 1 (p. 73-91; excluding paragraph 1.4.4) |
| 8 | Market regulation and privatization (first part) | First part, ch 6 (p. 112-125) |
| 9 | Market regulation and privatization (second part) | First part, ch 6 (p. 112-125) |
| 10 | Public choice (first part) | Second part, ch. 1 (p. 129-144) |
| 11 | Public choice (second part) | Second part, ch. 1 (p. 129-144) |
| 12 | Tax systems: an introduction | Fourth part, ch. 1 (p. 287-307) |
| 13 | Tax efficiency and distortions (first part) | Fourth part, ch. 2 (p. 308-319) |
| 14 | Tax efficiency and distortions (second part) | Fourth part, ch. 2 (p. 324-333) |
| 15 | Personal income taxes (first part) | Fourth part, ch. 3 (p. 334-346) |
| 16 | Personal income taxes (second part) | Fourth part, ch. 3 (p. 334-346) |
| 17 | Consumption taxes | Fourth part, ch. 3 (p. 349-357) |
| 18 | The Italian Personal Income Tax | Material available on Studium |
| 19 | The theories of fiscal federalism | Fifth part, ch. 4 (p. 382-391) |
| 20 | Fiscal federalism: rationale and forms of government | Fifth part, ch. 4 (p. 365-381) |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Knowledge will be tested through a written exam. Should the conditions require it, the assessment of student’s knowledge may also be carried out remotely.