Offered to: Class of 2020, 2021 and 2022
Prerequisites: None.
Office Hours: By Appointment.
The Public Finance course has been designed as a primer on the basic principles of public finance and their application in the Indian context.The emphasis will be on illustration and critical evaluation of the application of principles of public finance in the Indian context rather than abstract theory.
The topics covered will include:
- The fiscal role of the state;
- The structure and content of government budgets;
- Principles of public expenditure including public goods, externalities, collective goods and subsidies;
- Principles of taxation, including efficiency & equity, direct & indirect taxes, selected tax issues;
- Macroeconomic management including interaction between fiscal and monetary policy, deficit financing and public debt, instruments of balance of payments management, e.g., quantitative restrictions, tariffs, and exchange rate policy;
- The 2021-22 budget, and a fiscal strategy for post pandemic recovery towards sustained high growth;
- Fiscal federalism in India and the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.
