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ECON 522 Public Finance

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Course Information · Course Overview · Course Text · Instructor

Policies · Grading · Schedule

Rhein Main: 8/9  and 29/30 June,  13/14 and 27/28 July from 0900-1600

Course Overview

An analysis of the elements, structure, functions and processes of public finance. The course will cover theory and practice of the taxing and spending activities of government. The focus is on the microeconomic functions of government, i.e., the way government affects the allocation of resources and the distribution of income.

This course enables students to understand:

1. The rationale for the economic activity of the government in a capitalistic economy The use of economic analysis
   
2. The structure, sources, functions, and trends of U.S. public funds
   
3. The role of government in resource allocation, distribution, and stabilization policies
   
4. Economic policy options in a capitalistic economy

 

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Course Information

Title:	ECON 522
Credits:	Required course for M.A. in Administrative Management--Public Administration. Elective course for M.S. in Management Information Systems. Three (3) semester hours.
Prerequisites:	Principles of Economics-Macro (ECON 201) and Principles of Economics-Micro (ECON 203), or Economics for Administrative Management (ECON 505), or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
	I will be available outside class most days, including weekends via the Internet. It would, therefore, be useful to a student to have access to the Internet as well as a modern eMail system such as Microsoft Outlook2000 which will send and receive attachments and will handle various formats. Access to a W3C compliant browser such as IE5 would also be useful. Students are expected to have obtained the course text prior to starting the course and to undertake the required reading prior to class if possible.

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Instructor

Name:

Andy Pickering MSc BA Profile: Your instructor holds an MSc in Computer Science, a BA in Economics and a professional degree level certificate in Business Studies. He has held a variety of jobs outside education including Computer Manager for a national DIY chain in the UK, and Software Development Manager providing software to many of the biggest companies in the UK, and a few big ones in the US. He has taught both full and part-time for the University of Maryland since 1984, and also been involved on 4 course development collaborations with Adelphi to provide online teaching materials. He has also taught for a short time with Boston University on their graduate program. His main interest outside keeping a well stocked table, is renewable energy and he welcomes any dialogue on either subject. He currently operates from Woodbridge England or Tavira Portugal if you are in the area.

e-mail:

ECON522@prof2u.com Students are welcome to contact the instructor prior to the start of the course and at any point during it.

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Course Text

Public Finance. A contemporary application of theory and policy. David N. Hyman, seventh edition.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 

This manual / style guide is required as a reference for all Maryland in Europe graduate programs. Students are required to buy the manual for the Research Methods class, but if you have not already done so, you will be required to have access to a copy for this course.

Additional Materials  

These will be distributed as required, generally over the Internet.

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Policies

Late submissions will be accepted at the discretion of the lecturer, and may be returned with fewer or no detailed comments and possibly a reduced grade. 

Any work that you do for this class is to be your own. Any violation means that the work will not be accepted and further action will be taken.

Attendance and participation is expected. Students should be prepared to spend a substantial amount of time outside of class reading and preparing assignments. 

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Final Exam

The final exam is comprehensive and is worth 30% of your overall grade. 

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Grading

Your grade for the course will be determined on the following basis:

 

Item	Score
Midterm	20%
Project and Presentation	30%
Assignments	25%
Final Exam	25%

 

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Schedule         

Weekend	Dates	Module
1	8/9 June	Chapters 1 - 5: The economic basis for government activity
2	29/30 June	Chapters 1 - 5: Continued
		Chapters 10 - 12: Principles of government finance
		Review for Mid-Term
3	13/14 July	Chapters 14 - 17: Application of tax theory to tax policy.
4	27/28 July	Sections from Chapters 6 - 9 and 18: Selected topics in public policy or state and local finance.
		Review of the Course Content

 

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