Duration: 3 hours per week - 13 weeks [ECTS: 6]

Course outline

The course focuses on the public budget and the annual budgetary process with special emphasis on the Greek annual budget. The annual budget cycle in Greece is presented and discussed analyzing the role of the public sector in the economy, the importance of government intervention and how it influences the operation and behavior of economic agents. The two budgetary items – revenues and expenditures – are presented and their use and effectiveness as tools of economic policy is examined. Tax policy is examined both in terms of its market effects as well as in supporting and financing the provision of public goods. Greek fiscal deficits and public debt are critically assessed from the perspective of political processes that influence economic and fiscal policies and decision making.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the lectures, the students will be able to:

• Know and understand the annual budgetary cycle
• Have acquired a critical perspective over the role and importance of government intervention through taxation and public expenditures and how they affect markets and economic agents
• Comprehend the nexus between public revenues and expenditures
• Critically discuss and analyze fiscal imbalances and the economic policy constraints they generate