Courses

    This course is intended as a general introduction to the economics of government taxing and spending, with a focus on the implications of economic theory for legal problems. Our goal will be to develop the ability to make and respond to economic arguments for and against discrete legal and policy outcomes. We will begin by asking the central questions for the enterprise of regulation, such as: What is the economic case for government intervention in markets? When do governments fail? What reforms can we institute to respond to predictable government failures? We will pose each question in the context of some specific legal or policy controversy -- first learning the economics, and then practicing the application of the economics to a legal or policy question. So, for example, we will analyze the basic concept of the "externality," and consider its implications for regulation both of global climate change and interstate trade. There will be virtually no math, although I will expect you to be able to read a graph.