Programma

Public Finance studies the public sector of the economy, in particular the taxing and spending activities carried out by the State. The course is organized in three parts. The first is methodological, as it provides the tools for analysis and evaluation of state intervention in the economy. The main topics covered are welfare economics and the normative theory of public intervention; market failures, the economics of public goods and externalities; public choice and the positive theory of public intervention. The second part, specifically on public economics, examines the main spending programs within the country's welfare state: assistance to families with low incomes, redistribution of resources, healthcare, education, pension systems as well as the general functioning of the welfare state, analyzed from an evolutionary perspective of workfare. The third part of the course, relating to public finance, analyzes taxation and the countries' tax systems in a comparative perspective. The main themes are the theory of taxation, efficiency and equity in taxation, the structure of the Italian tax system, the main major taxes - tax on personal income, on joint-stock companies, on consumption and on assets; the introduction to decentralized finance, deficit financing and the constraints to which it is subject.

Testi Adottati

H. S. Rosen, T. Gayer (2018), Scienza delle finanze, V ed., Milano, McGraw-Hill.
P. Bosi-M. C. Guerra (2023), I tributi nell'economia italiana, ultima edizione, Bologna, Il Mulino.

Modalità Frequenza

Regular class attendance is highly recommended

Modalità Valutazione

The student can take the exam in two alternative ways. 1) Two written tests will be held during the course, on the dates indicated in the syllabus. For the student who takes both, the final grade may correspond to the weighted average (40%-60% respectively) of the grades of the first and second tests, provided that the latter is passed with a sufficient grade (at least 18/30). In this case the student will be able to accept the grade and record it directly at the first available exam date. 2) Students who did not pass one or both tests, or who did not achieve a sufficient grade in the weighted average, or who in any case aspire to a higher grade, will be able to take the exam in oral form on the entire program in an exam session of their choice. It is important to underline that the tests are not exemptions: given the cumulative structure of the subject, the second test will also include topics already covered in the first.