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Fiscal Theory and Policy

* Exchange students do not have to consider this information when selecting suitable courses for an exchange stay.

Course Unit Code114-0344/04
Number of ECTS Credits Allocated4 ECTS credits
Type of Course Unit *Compulsory
Level of Course Unit *Second Cycle
Year of Study *First Year
Semester when the Course Unit is deliveredWinter Semester
Mode of DeliveryFace-to-face
Language of InstructionCzech
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites There are no prerequisites or co-requisites for this course unit
Name of Lecturer(s)Personal IDName
LIB009prof. Dr. Ing. Jan Libich
MEL044doc. Ing. Aleš Melecký, Ph.D.
JAW127doc. Ing. Jan Janků, Ph.D.
BAD0012Ing. Ondřej Badura, Ph.D.
Summary
The course provides a comprehensive review of fiscal theory since the end of
WWII. It is aimed on fiscal policy efficiency in the neo-Keynesian IS-LM and
IS- LM-BP models, attention is also paid to fiscal aspects of new classical
macroeconomics and new Keynesian economics. The course also contains topics
that are not usually tought in intermediate courses of macroeconomics. These
are, for example, the Ricardian equivalence theorem, fiscal federalism or
fiscal theory of price level.
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
Student should be able to:
-assess the efficiency of governments fiscal measures
-compare the theoretical approaches to fiscal imbalance
-estimate the impact of fiscal variables' changes on other macro variables
-design measures for improving the situation of public finance
Course Contents
1. FISCAL POLICY IN CLOSED ECONOMY – THE IS-LM ANALYSIS
- Crowding-out effect of government purchases
- Fiscal policy multiplier
- Interaction of monetary and fiscal policy in the IS-LM model

2. FISCAL POLICY IN OPEN ECONOMY – THE IS-LM-BP ANALYSIS
- Efficiency of fiscal policy in alternative exchange rate regimes
- Efficiency of fiscal policy in alternative levels of capital mobility

3.-4. BUDGET DEFICIT AND ITS MEASUREMENT
- budget deficit – its possible causes and consequences
- Structural and cyclical deficit and their measurement
- Alternative measures of fiscal imbalance

5.-6. THEORY OF GOVERNMENT DEBT
- Government debt, its causes and consequences
- Domestic debt and its consequences.
- Foreign debt and its consequences

7. RICARDIAN EQUIVALENCE.
- Debt and taxes as equivalent methods of financing government expenditures
- Permanent income – life cycle hypothesis application, interteporal choice
- Ricardian equivalence and economic policy

8.-9. FISCAL ASPECTS OF SUPPLY SIDE ECONOMICS
- Theory of incentives (P. C. Roberts).
- Theory of Laffer curve
- Fiscal experiments in the 80’s (M. Thatcher, R. Reagan) and their results

10. THEORY AND EMPIRY OF FISCAL FEDERALISM
- Neokeynesian conception of fiscal federalism (R. Musgrave).
- W. Oates‘ approach of fiscal federalism
- Fiscal policy in integrating Europe (EU, EMU).

11.-12. INTERACTION OF MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICY.
- Fiscal aspects of monetary policy
- Seigniorage as a source of budget revenues
- Intertemporal budget constraint and „weak version“ of fiscal theory of price level

13.-14. LONG-RUN SUSTAINABILITY OF PUBLIC FINANCE
- Demographic changes and fiscal sustainability
- Role of mandatory expenditures in public finance
Recommended or Required Reading
Required Reading:
ROSEN, Harvey and Ted GAYER, Public Policy (Global 10th Edition), 2014. 700p. ISBN 978-00-7715-469-1.
KNILL, Christoph a Jale TOSUN. Public Policy: A New Introduction. 2nd ed. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020. 296 p. ISBN 978-11-3757-329-2.
ALESINA, Alberto a Francesco GIAVAZZI. Fiscal policy after the financial crisis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013. 585 p. ISBN 978-02-2601-844-7.
IZÁK, Vratislav. Fiskální politika. Praha: Oeconomica, 2005. 209 s. ISBN 80-245-0976-8.
KUBÁTOVÁ, Květa. Fiskální a monetární politika po velké recesi. Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, 2016. 118 s. ISBN 978-80-7380-605-7.
ROSEN, Harvey and Ted GAYER, Public Policy (Global 10th Edition), 2014. 700p. ISBN 978-00-7715-469-1.
Recommended Reading:
AYUSO-CASALS, Joaqium. Policy instruments for sound fiscal policies: Fiscal rules and institutions. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. 356 p. ISBN 978-9-279-09310-4.
HANSEN, Alvin Harvey a Seymour Edwin HARRIS. Monetary theory and fiscal policy. Chicago: Papamoa Press, 2018. 219 p. ISBN 978-1-78912-741-6.
MANKIW, Gregory. Macroeconomics. 10th edition. New York: Macmillan International Higher Education, 2019. ISBN 978-1-319-24358-6.
JÍLEK, Milan. Fiskální decentralizace, teorie a empirie. Praha: ASPI, 2008. 426 s. ISBN 978-80-7357-355-3.
BACHANOVÁ, Veronika. Fiskální politika v prostředí evropské hospodářské a měnové unie. Praha: C.H. Beck, 2014. 127 s. ISBN 978-80-7400-526-8.
HANSEN, Alvin Harvey a Seymour Edwin HARRIS. Monetary theory and fiscal policy. Chicago: Papamoa Press, 2018. 219 p. ISBN 978-1-78912-741-6.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Lectures, Seminars
Assesment methods and criteria
Task TitleTask TypeMaximum Number of Points
(Act. for Subtasks)
Minimum Number of Points for Task Passing
Graded exercises evaluationGraded credit100 (100)51
        Defence of seminar paperOther task type70 0
        Activity during seminarsOther task type30 12