Political Sciences and International Security

FINANCE OF LOCAL AUTORITHIES

Course objectives

The course aims to provide students with theoretical and institutional tools to understand the rationale of fiscal decentralization. The multi-level government’s organization will be analyzed from a theoretical and empirical point of view focusing on the recent evolution of decentralization in Italy. Specifically the goals of the course are: a) Illustration of the motivations and tools of decentralization. b) Knowledge of the methodological aspects of the analysis of the local public finance. c) Application of the economic theories to decentralized governments. d) Development of the evaluation autonomy and critical ability to understand tpublic policies. e) Development of a tecnical language, adequate to express the economic concepts. f) Acquisition of learning skills necessary to deepen and update the relevant issues, also using different references, and to understake subsequent studies.

Channel 1

EMMA GALLI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program

The program consists of three parts: The first part is dedicated to the basic public finance issues within the framework of the State’s functions of allocation, redistribution and stabilization: welfare economics and market failures, public goods, externalities, natural monopoly, public choice, growth of the public sector, principles of the tax system, distributive principles of taxation, tax incidence (about 8 weeks). The second part analyzes the rationale of the Welfare State in Italy and focuses on the sectors of education and health (about 2 weeks). The third part is dedicated to the Italian tax system an in particular analyzes the personal income tax, the corporate income tax and the sales tax (about 2 weeks).

Prerequisites

No specific requirements. Microeconomics and macroeconomics are recommended.

Books

A. Balestrino – E. Galli – L. Spataro, Scienza delle Finanze, Utet Università - De Agostini, Torino, 2015. Per gli studenti che devono sostenere l’esame di Scienza delle finanze di 9 CFU: Per la prima parte, Parte I, capitoli 2, 4, 5, 6; Parte II, 1, 2, 3. Per la seconda parte, Parte IV, capitoli 1, 2, 4 e 5. Per la terza parte ; Parte V, capitoli 1, 2 (par. V.2.1, V.2.2. e V.2.4), 3 (par. V.3.1 e V.3.2 ).4 (par. V.4.1 e V.4.3) e 5 (par. V.5.1, V.5.3). Per gli studenti che devono sostenere l’esame di Scienza delle finanze di 6 CFU sono esclusi i seguenti capitoli: Parte II, capitolo 2, 3; Parte IV, capitoli 2, 4 e 5. Con riferimento alla edizione del 2019, la numerazione dei capitoli è cambiata come segue: Per il programma dei 9 CFU, Parte I, capitoli 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Parte II, 1, 2, 4; Parte III, 1, 3, 4; Parte IV, capitoli 1, 2, 3. Per il programma di 6 CFU, sono esclusi Parte II, capitoli 2 e 4; Parte III, capitoli 3 e 4. Per tutti gli studenti sono esclusi i paragrafi contrassegnati da un asterisco nei capitoli.

Frequency

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended

Exam mode

In the evaluation of the exam, the final grade is determined using the following criteria: 1. Complete knowledge of all the topics. 2. Appropriateness, rigor and logic in illustrating the teorie and their applications. 3. Use of the graphs to be included into the theoretical frame work. 4. Ability to use the competences acquired during the course to under stand and critically analyze the current public finance issues. 5. Use of an appropriate language. The students who attend the course are required to take two written examinations (a mid-term and a final exam at the end of the class, not cumulative) and an optional oral examination which covers the whole program. The lenght of each exam is 120 minutes.

Lesson mode

The teaching method consists in frontal lectures and discussions about specific contemporary issues.