This Ph.D.-level course provides the conceptual and theoretical foundations of public finance by dealing with a large number of concepts, models, and techniques that are used in the research on public finance. A command of the positive analysis of the incidence of government policies is fundamental to the study of most problems of public finance; positive analysis is emphasized throughout the course. Among the topics are: measurements of changes in welfare; economy-wide incidence of taxes; effects of taxation on risk-taking, investments, and financial markets; corporate taxation; taxation of goods and services; taxation of income; taxation and savings; positive problems of redistribution; and tax arbitrage, tax avoidance, tax evasion, and the underground economy. Prerequisites: Open to Ph.D. students; other students may enroll with consent of the instructor.
