Difficulties of Measuring government impact – implications and ties to how government can influence behavior, distinguishing "on budget" and "off budget" effects

Positive and Normative Economics ties to Welfare Economics, utility and consumer & producer surplus concepts

Public Goods – nonrival and non excludable in consumption ties to concern about under provision due to free riding, potentially distinguish from publicly provided goods, and public production of goods

Externalities – costs or benefits to 3^rd parties ties to Coase Theorem

Equity and Social Policy – What distribution would be fair?
Process versus outcome considerations
Rawls
Lorenz

Income redistribution and poverty programs - history, examples of in kind aid, AFDC, TANF

Social Insurance – Unemployment insurance compensation, Social Security (OASDI), Medicare, Medicaid

Cost Benefit Analysis
 

On Budget vs. Social

Market prices & Shadow prices

Pecuinary & Nonpecuinary

Risk & uncertainty equivalents

PV

Discount rate selection

Distributional considerations

Pitfalls:
Chain reaction game
Multiplier effect if economy is on ppf
Counting labor as a benefit (especially if already employed)
Double counting
 

Conflicting goals in tax design ties to Vertical & Horizontal Equity, Benefits Received, & Efficiency as well progressive, regressive, and proportional tax structure concepts

Efficiency Losses ties to income and substitution effects, Ramsey Rule, inverse elasticity rule, and Corlett-Hague Rule as well administrative costs, compliance costs, avoidance costs, and evasion costs

Personal Taxes in the US

        Haig-Simons definition of Income vs. practical concerns

Exclusions, different tax rates for income from different sources, deferral of income, exemptions, deductions, and taxable unit considerations tie to effects on implicit prices, intertemporal effects, investment, portfolio composition, and growth

Only people can be taxed
(This can bring up the questions of: Is this tax needed? Are corporations citizens? Does this tax fit benefits received? Does this reduce tax avoidance via deferral of income?)

Deductions in US system for employee compensation, interest, depreciation

Dividends and the double taxation puzzle

Cost of Capital model

Debt & deficits ties to:

Functional finance & stability
Inflation
Crowding out
Growth
Ricardian equivalence
Benefits Received
Intergenerational equity

Consumption Taxes
Sales taxes, unit vs. ad valorem, distortionary effects, VAT,
User fees

Wealth taxes, Estate and Gift Taxes, Property taxes
 

Fiscal Federalism

What level(s) of government should be involved?
Some key Considerations:

Intercommunity externalities
Economies of Scale in Production or Provision
Taxation efficiencies
Potential for income redistribution and income distribution effects
Local Preferences, the degree of variation and of sorting (Tiebout)
Competition
Experimentation

Effects of Lump Sum, Matching, and Closed-Ended Matching Grants