The Public Finance and Policy specialisation engages students in the questions of financing, prioritising and managing government activities, including the interaction of fiscal (tax and spending) policies with the market economy in an era of fiscal austerity and growing inequality. Students can range across three interrelated areas of public finance to develop knowledge and skills. The first examines policies, institutions, processes and regulatory structures for raising public revenue and for managing public expenditures, such as principles of equity, redistribution and compliance in tax policy, and fiscal rule frameworks and evidence-informed decision-making and accountabilities in expenditure budgeting. The second explores interactions between fiscal policy and public policies, such as in the context of social protection policies and their impacts on public spending and social and economic inequality. The third surveys theories and practices of policy design and instrument selection in budgetary and policy decision-making processes. Students can develop knowledge of the relationship between fiscal policy and the design and evaluation of public policies, as well as analytical tools to understand and assess the politics of taxation and expenditures. 

Relevant Degrees

• Master of Public Policy (MPUPP)