西方财政学-英文(厦门大学)

1Chapter1-IntroductionPublicEconomics2PublicFinanceDefined•Publicfinanceisaboutthetaxingandspendingactivitiesofthegovernment.•Alsoknownas“publicsectoreconomics”or“publiceconomics.”•Focusisonmicroeconomicfunctionsofgovernment–policesthataffectoverallunemploymentorpricelevelsareleftformacroeconomics.•Scopeofpublicfinanceunclear–governmenthasroleinmanyactivities,butfocuswillbeontaxesandspending.3PublicFinanceandIdeology•Howshouldagovernmentfunctionineconomicsphere?•Organicview–communitystressedaboveindividual.Goalsofsocietysetbythestate.•Mechanisticview–governmentisacontrivancecreatedbyindividualstobetterachievetheirindividualgoals.Individual,notgroup,isatcenterstage.–Thisistheviewpointtakeninthetextbook.4GovernmentataGlance•Legalframework–Federalgovernment•NorealconstraintsonspendinginConstitution•TaxesmustcomeoriginateinHouseofRepresentatives.–Equaltaxratesacrossstates.–Incometaxcamefrom16thamendmenttoConstitution.•Canrunbudgetdeficits–Stateandlocalgovernment•Canimposespending/taxingrestrictionsonitself.•Manystatescannotrunbudgetdeficits.5GovernmentataGlance•Sizeofgovernment–howtomeasure?–Numberofgovernmentemployees–Annualexpenditures•Purchasesofgoodsandservices,transfers,andinterestpayments•Unifiedbudget–In2001,$1.6trillionspentatfederallevel,andanother$1.3trillionatstateandlocallevels.6GovernmentataGlance•Thesenumbersignoreactivitiesthatdonothaveexplicitoutlays,butsubstantialeffectsonresourceallocation.–Regulations,forexample.–Conceivably,couldconstructa“regulatorybudget”toaccountforthesecosts,butdifficulttocompute.7GovernmentExpenditure•Somenumbers•Annualexpenditureshavegrownbyafactorof290from1929-2001.–Inflation,populationalsochanging.Real,per-capitaexpenditurestill10timesaslarge.–AspercentageofGDP,governmentexpenditurewas9.6%in1929,and29.3%in2001.Table1.19GovernmentExpenditure•UnitedStatesversusotherdevelopedcountries.•U.S.publicsectorisquitesmallcomparedtoSwedenorFrance,andsmallerthanallthecountrieslisted.•Althoughlarge,theU.S.governmentissmallinrelativeterms.Morerelianceonprivatesector.Table1.211GovernmentExpenditure•In1965•Nationaldefensealmosthalfoffederalexpenditure•Socialsecuritysmall&Medicarenon-existent•Debtpaymentsroughlyconstant.•In2001•Defensewaslessthanone-fifth•Socialsecuritynowlargestspendingitem,Medicarelarge&growingFigure1.113GovernmentExpenditure•Muchofthegovernmentbudgetconsistsofentitlementprograms–programswithcostsdeterminedbynumberofpeoplewhoqualify.–SocialSecurity,Medicare,welfare•Three-quartersofthefederalbudgetisrelativelyuncontrollable,becauseoftheseentitlements.14GovernmentExpenditure•Federalgovernmentresponsibleforabout51%ofdirectexpenditure.•Stategovernmentsresponsiblefor21%.•Localgovernmentsresponsiblefor28%.–State&localgovernmentsprimarilyresponsibleforpolice&fireprotection,education,transportation,andsomewelfareprograms.15GovernmentRevenues•Federaltaxesmainlyconsistofindividualincometaxes,payrolltaxes,andcorporatetaxes.–Personalincometax46%ofcollections.•State&localtaxesmainlyconsistofpropertytaxes,salestaxes,individualincometaxes,andgrantsfromfederalgovernment.–Lessreliancenowonpropertytax,moreonincometax.16RecapofIntroduction•Publicfinance,definition•Viewsofgovernment•Governmentexpenditure•Governmentrevenue17Chapter2–ToolsofPositiveAnalysisPublicEconomics18Policyanalysisishard•Whyisitsohardtotellwhat’sgoingonwithgovernmentactions?–Considerloweringincometaxrates.Willloweringtaxesincreaseworkeffortandlaborsupply?•Unlikethephysicalandnaturalsciences,difficulttoperformcarefullycontrolledexperimentsontheeconomy.•Oftentimes,thereisno“controlgroup”or“comparisongroup”forapolicy.19Alternativestoanexperiment•Useofstatisticaltoolstostudyimpactofpublicpolicies.•Willusethedebateovertheeffectoftaxesonlaborsupplytoillustratehowpositiveanalysisisdoneinpublicfinance.20Roleofeconomictheory•ConsideranalyzingTable2.1–Asmarginaltaxrateshaveincreased,averageweeklyhourshavedecreasedfrom1955to2001.–Canweconclusivelysaythattaxeshavedepressedlaborsupply?No.•Nonlaborincomerose(dividends,interest)•AttitudesmayhavechangedTable2.122Roleofeconomictheory•Inreality,anunlimitednumberoffactorschangeovertime,andcouldaffectlaborsupply.•Economictheoryhelpsisolateasmallsetofvariablesthatareimportantinfluencesonbehavior.23Roleofeconomictheory•Theorywouldsuggestthatpersonmaximizesutility--andwouldincludefactorsliketheperson’sownwagerate.•Theoryisoftentoosimple–mayignoreimportantconsiderations.Butwholepointofmodelbuildingistoreduceaproblemtoitsessentials.24Roleofeconomictheory•Inthislaborsupplycase,theafter-taxwagechangeswiththepolicy.–Theorypredictsthattheeffectonhoursisambiguous.–Thesubstitutioneffectpredictsthatasthewage(priceofleisure)falls,consumerssubstitutetowardleisure.–Theincomeeffectsaysthatifleisureisanormalgood,consumersconsumelessofitasincomefalls.•Onlyempiricalwork–analysisbasedonobservationasopposedtotheory–cananswerthisquestion.25MethodsofEmpiricalAnalysis•Therearethreemainmethods:–Interviews–Experiments–Econometricstudies26MethodsofEmpiricalAnalysis•Interviews–Moststraightforwardwaytofindoutwhet