Faculty Contact Information:
Mr. Andreas Rambow
Adjunct Associate Professor
UMUC Europe
By email 24/24, 7 days a week.
Website: http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~arambow/index.html
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Consultation:
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The best way to contact me is by email at the address above any time. I usually respond within the same day, weekends included.
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Required Texts and Readings:
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Text used exclusively for this course--
Hyman, D.N. 2005. Public finance: A contemporary application of theory to policy (8th ed.). Fort Worth: Dryden Press.
Text used in multiple courses--
American Pyschological Association. Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington D.C.: Author.
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Supplementary Readings:
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In addition, all graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.
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Recommended Journals:
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Course Description:
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Prerequisites: ECON 201 Principles of Economics-Macro and ECON 203 Principles of Economics-Micro, or ECON 505, or equivalent, and undergraduate American political science or American government, or permission of the Program Director. An analysis of the elements, structure, functions, and processes of public finance. This course covers theory and practice of the allocation, distribution, and stabilization roles of the government at national, state, and local levels.
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Course Goals:
As one of three courses required for the Policy track of the MPA, this course is designed to assist students in acquiring the knowledge and analytical skills commonly used in policy analysis. Upon completion of the course, participants should have a working knowledge of:
- The rationale for the economic activity of the government in a capitalistic economy,
- The structure, sources, functions, and trends of U.S. public funds,
- The role of federal, state, and local governments in resource allocation, distribution, and stabilization policies, and how these governments interrelate with regard to funding,
- The specific structure of the U.S. personal and corporate income tax structure,
- The nature of the federal deficit and debt, and how economic policy decisions are both constrained by and affect both, and
- How economic analysis influences various models of policy analysis.
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
- Analyze how a market system operates with government influence,
- Evaluate issues of market failure such as externalities and public goods,
- Critique government policies that effect the market economy and propose modifications to existing policies or new policies,
- Analyze how policy decisions are influenced by and influence the complex nature of the federal/state/local environments and the business/government environment,
- Utilize government-provided data to evaluate economic performance when developing or analyzing policy,
- Prepare written economic critiques of existing public policies and propose new policies based on economic considerations,
- Incorporate visual and mathematical economic analysis in written economic critiques of policy decisions, and
- Present orally an economic criticism of a new publicp policy for review by peers.
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
- A 89.5%
- B 79.5 – 89%
- C 69.5 – 79%
- F Below 69.5%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog. Hard copies of the catalog are available in your local Education Center.
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Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society. In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
- Online Participation.............................10%
- Weekly End-of-Chapter Problem Sets...............30%
- Online Midterm Exam..............................20%
- Online Final Exam (not cumulative................20%
- Writing a gradudate level paper..................20%
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Description of Course Requirements:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job. Most 14-week graduate distance education courses require at least 10 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.
1. Online Participation: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner.
2. Weekly End-of-Chapter Problem Sets: Each chapter concludes with a set of problems that will require you to apply the economic concepts discussed in the chapter. They are a combination of analysis, computation, and decision-making.
We will cover one chapter per week in this course. The week starts on a Monday and ends the following Monday with the problem sets being due on this day, unless the student has made arrangements with the instructor.
3. Online Midterm Examination: The midterm exam will be given in Week 7 of this course and will consist of the material discussed up to that point. The exam will consist of essay questions.
4. Final Examination: The final exam for this course will be given in Week 14 and is not cumulative. It covers only the material covered after the midterm. The format will be essay questions.
5. Writing a Graduate-Level Paper: As a graduate student, it is important to develop good and professional writing skills and to be able and present a critical analysis of issues in public policy. The writing assignment will consist of analyzing a current topic in public policy by utilizing economic theory as it applies to public finance. You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment. If you have questions about the resubmission, please speak with me directly.
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Course Schedule:
Week 1
Chapter 1: Individuals and Government. Problem Set: page 29, Problems 1 - 5. Appendix 1: Tools of Microeconomic Analysis.
Week 2
Chapter 2: Efficiency, Markets and Governments. Problem Set: page 76, Problems 1 - 5. Appendix 2: Welfare economics.
Week 3
Chapter 3: Externalities and Government Policy. Problem Set: page 135, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 4
Chapter 4: Public Goods. Problem Set: page 168, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 5
Chapter 5: Public Choice and the Political Process. Problem Set: page 214, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 6
Chapter 6: Cost-Benefit Analysis and Government Investments. Problem Set: page 248, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 7
Chapter 7: Government Subsidies and Income Support for the Poor. Problem Set: page 299, Problems 1 - 5. Midterm Exam Week.
Week 8
Term Break!
Week 9
Chapter 8: Social Security and Social Insurance. Problem Set: page 342, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 10
Chapter 9: Government and Health Care. Problem Set: page 390, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 11
Chapter 10: Introduction to Government Finance. Problem Set: page 424, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 12
Chapter 11: Taxation, Prices, Efficiency, and the Distribution of Income. Problem Set: page 462, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 13
Chapter 12: Budget Balance and Government Debt. Problem Set: page 500, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 14
Chapter 13: The Theory of Income Taxation. Problem Set: page 534, Problems 1 - 5.
Week 15
Chapter 14: Taxation of Personal Income Tax in the United States. Problem Set: page 579, Problems 1 - 5. Final Exam Week. Writing Assignment Due.
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Academic Policies:
Note: Any written assignment in this course may be submitted to TurnItIn.Com. This statement constitutes prior notice.
The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.
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Faculty Bio:
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Mr. Rambow has been a faculty member since 1995.
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