Public Economics and Finance (2 º Sem 2017/2018)

Public finances and the role of the state
-The public sector in a mixed economy;
-Public finances and theories about the role of the government.

Public expenditure theory and practice
-Normative theories about the role of the public sector;
-Expenditure and efficiency: public goods and externalities;
-Expenditure and equity: income redistribution and equality of opportunities;
-Evolutionary patterns in public expenditure in Portugal and the EU.

Public revenues theory and practice
-Main sources of public financing;
-Tax revenues and efficiency;
-Tax revenues and equity;
-The Portuguese tax system.

The public sector in Portugal: scope, structure, accounts and Budget
-The structure and nature of Public Administrations;
-The accounts and balances of Public Administrations;
-Basic concepts of the State Budget and the budgeting cycle
The State Budget;
-The notion, content and structure of the Budget;
-The Budget Cycle;
-Budget rules and classifications (economic, organic, functional, programs).

Fiscal Framework and fiscal policy within the Economic and Monetary Union
-Objectives, instruments, and indicators;
-Fiscal policy: budget constraint, public debt and sustainability;
-The overall framework of fiscal policy in EMU;
-Bailouts and Fiscal policy in countries under EU/ECB/IMF programmes;
-Debt sustainability and economic growth.