top of page
Paper VB: Public Finance
Unit-1: Introduction to public economics

The nature, scope and significance of public economics

Unit-2: Forms and Functions of Government

Different forms of government – unitary and federal. Tiers of government in the federal form- Central, State, Local (Introductory discussion with examples).

Functions of Government - Economic functions -allocation, distribution and stabilization.

Regulatory functions of the Government and its economic significance.

Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Unit-3: Federal Finance

Federal Finance: Different layers of the government, Inter governmental transfer—horizontal vs. vertical equity.

Grants—merits and demerits of various types of grants—unconditional vs. conditional grants, tied grants, matching grants.

Click Here
Unit-4: Public Goods and Public Sector

Concept of public goods—characteristics of public goods, national vs. local public goods, determination of provision of public good

Externality, concept of social versus private costs and benefits, merit goods, club goods.

Provision versus production of public goods. Market failure and public provision. Pricing of public goods—vertical summation

Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Unit-5: Government Budget and Policy

Government budget and its structure – Receipts and expenditure - concepts of current and capital account, balanced, surplus, and deficit budgets, concept of budget deficit vs. fiscal deficit, functional classification of budget. Concept of Revenue Deficit.

Budget, government policy and its impact. Budget multipliers.

Click Here
Unit-6: Revenue Resources

Concept of tax, types of tax – direct tax and indirect tax, canons of taxation, subsidy, transfer policy.

Principles of taxation -Ability to Pay principle (brief discussion), Benefit Approach (Actual Examples)

Tax Design - introduction – truth seeking mechanism.

Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Unit-7: Tax Structure

Tax Design - introduction – truth seeking mechanism.

Effects of income tax on work effort, saving and risk bearing (just brief ideas).

Excess burden of indirect taxes

VAT, Goods and Services Tax (pros and cons).

Non-tax revenue resources-earnings from public undertakings, interest on loans.

Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Unit-8: Distribution and Stabilization

Instruments for stabilization

Public Debt---internal and external.

Public Finance and Public Choice: The Role of State.

Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
bottom of page