Public Policy at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy | University of Toronto

SECTION I: Summer 2018
Public Finance

Course Description

This course will look at the motivation and operation of major spending programs and revenue-raising tools of Canadian governments. It will explore rationales for government action such as externalities, information failures, redistribution and macroeconomic management, and the principal-agent problems that affect the design, financing and delivery of programs in areas such as healthcare, education, retirement income, and intergovernmental transfers. A key focus of the course is using financial statements and other reports to understand governments’ behaviour and mitigate principal-agent problems.

Term
Summer (2nd year)

Instructor
M. Oschinski

OR

SECTION I: Fall
International Development

Course Description

This course will explore international development from the perspective of practice. We examine central questions – why so many people are in deep poverty and what can be done about it – by considering the practical levers available to program leaders and policy makers. The course will therefore approach these large questions by iterating between two points of view: first, practical case studies, and second, conceptual frameworks and analytical readings. Students will participate in the interchange, as we progressively deepen our understanding of the core questions. We will interrogate a multi-disciplinary literature from the perspective of cumulative experience in development and immediate issues facing practitioners; we aim for a perspective that enables practitioners to adapt to and learn from the dynamic, uncertain environment in which they must work.

Term
Fall (2nd year)

Instructor
J. Radner

SECTION II: Fall
Public Finance

Course Description

This course will look at the motivation and operation of major spending programs and revenue-raising tools of Canadian governments. It will explore rationales for government action such as externalities, information failures, redistribution and macroeconomic management, and the principal-agent problems that affect the design, financing and delivery of programs in areas such as healthcare, education, retirement income, and intergovernmental transfers. A key focus of the course is using financial statements and other reports to understand governments’ behaviour and mitigate principal-agent problems.

Term
Fall (2nd year)

Instructor
TBA

OR

SECTION I: Spring
Public Finance

Course Description

This course covers material on (I) Welfare Economics and Incidence and Efficiency Cost of Government Policies, (II) Taxation and Redistribution, (III) Social Insurance, (IV) Economics of Mandates. The emphasis will be on the theoretical and empirical evaluation of public policy. The course will be a project-oriented capstone course, designed to give students a background in the economic analysis of public policy, with a focus on empirical (evidence-based) analysis.

Term
Spring (2nd year)

Instructor
K. Kroft

Notes
*Prerequisite: Successful completion of at least 3.5 FCEs in MPP1 courses
Required of all second year students.
Courses offered under the “Current Issues/Problems in Public Policy and Practice” seminar series are subject to change with each new academic year.