Dr. Khurrum S. Mughal
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Introduction to Public Finance
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Evaluating Public Finance and Role of the Government
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Public goods and Externalities
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Public Revenue
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Theories & Principles of Taxation
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Effects of Taxation
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Public Expenditure
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Theories & Principles of Public Expenditure
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Public Debt and Management
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Public Finance and Public Choice: Analytical Perspectives,
Third Edition,
John Cullis and Philip Jones
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Public Finance: A Contemporary Application of Theory to Policy,
Tenth Edition,
David N. Hyman
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Public Finance
M. Maria John Kennedy
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Public Finance
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Public Finance, field of economics concerned
with how governments raise money, how
that money is spent, and the effects of these
activities on the economy and on society
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Also known as “public sector economics” or
“public economics.”
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Public finance studies how governments at
all levels—national, provincial, and local—
provide the public with desired services and
how they secure the financial resources to
pay for these services.
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In many industrialized countries, spending
and taxation by the government form a large
portion of the nation's total economic
activity.
For example, total government spending in
the Pakistan equals about 20 percent of the
nation's gross domestic product
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The Functions of The State
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The Effects of Fiscal Operations on Economic Life
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The Subject Matter of Public Finance
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The Functions of the State
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Set common rules of behavior
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Protect citizens from external threats
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Pool resources for the common good
Intervene in the system since Individuals may
be unable to evaluate utility of certain
products
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 Elementary Education for children
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Address and correct market failures
 To provide the institutions that allow market to function
(e.g. protection of property rights)
 To provide the essential goods and services that markets
fail to adequately provide
 Regulating the behavior business entities
▪ Monopoly Control Authorities
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Society is a natural organism
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Goals of society set by state
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Actions of individual are judged by the
contribution they make to the state
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“Ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country.”
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Individuals are paramount, government
created to meet the needs of individuals
Big debate over importance of individual
freedom
Two types of freedom:
 Freedom to do as you like
 Freedom not to suffer from activities of others
 As society grows more crowded, second type of
freedom becomes more important
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Government is comprised of thousands of
government units
Three levels:
• Federal
• Provincial
• Local
Each level allocates different levels and types
of resources
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Size of the Government
 Number of government employees
 Annual expenditures
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Role of the Government
 Free market ideology
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The Effects of Fiscal Operations on Economic Life
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Governments provide public goods—
government-financed items and services such
as roads, military forces, lighthouses, and
street lights.
Private citizens would not voluntarily pay for
these services, and therefore businesses have
no incentive to produce them.
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Public finance also enables governments to
correct or offset undesirable side effects of a
market economy.
These side effects are called spillovers or
externalities.
Example: households and industries may
generate pollution and release it into the
environment without considering the adverse
effect pollution has on others.
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Pollution is a spillover because it affects
people who are not responsible for it.
To correct a spillover, governments can
encourage or restrict certain activities.
For example, governments can sponsor
recycling programs to encourage less
pollution, pass laws that restrict pollution, or
impose charges or taxes on activities that
cause pollution.
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Public finance provides government
programs that moderate the incomes of the
wealthy and the poor.
These programs include social security,
welfare, and other social programs.
For example, some elderly people or people
with disabilities require financial assistance
because they cannot work.
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Governments redistribute income by
collecting taxes from their wealthier citizens
to provide resources for their needy ones.
The taxes fund programs that help support
people with low incomes.
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Taxation
Protection to Infant Industries
Providing Employment Opportunities
Economic Planning
Equality
Economic Stability
Optimum Utilization of Resources
Savings and Investments
Subsidies and Grants
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Government spending and taxation directly affect
the overall performance of the economy.
 For example, if the government increases spending
to build a new highway, construction of the highway
will create jobs. Jobs create income that people
spend on purchases, and the economy tends to
grow.
 The opposite happens when the government
increases taxes. Households and businesses have
less of their income to spend, they purchase fewer
goods, and the economy tends to shrink.
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The Subject Matter of Public Finance
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Public Expenditure
Public Revenue
Fiscal Policy
Public Debt
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Each year national, Provincial, and local
governments create a budget to determine
how much money they will spend during the
upcoming year.
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The budget determines which public goods to
produce, which spillovers to correct, and how
much assistance to provide to financially
disadvantaged people.
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The chief administrator of the government—such as
the prime minister, governor, or mayor—proposes
the budget.
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The legislature—such as the parliament, Provincial
council, or Municipality council—ultimately must
pass the budget.
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The legislature often changes the size and
composition of the budget, but it must not make
changes that the chief administrator will reject and
veto.
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Government spending takes two forms:
 Exhaustive spending
 Transfer spending.
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Exhaustive spending: refers to purchases
made by a government for the production of
public goods.
For example, to construct a new harbor the
government buys and uses resources from
the economy, such as labor and raw
materials.
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Transfer spending when government transfers
income to people to help them support themselves.
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Transfers can be one of two kinds i.e. cash or inkind.
 Cash transfers are cash payments, such as social security
checks and welfare payments.
 In-kind transfers involve no cash payments but instead
transfer goods or services to recipients. Examples of inkind transfers include food stamp coupons and Medicare.
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Governments must have funds, or revenue, to
pay for their activities.
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Governments generate some revenue by
charging fees for the services they provide, such
as entrance fees at national parks or tolls for
using a highway.
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However, most government revenue comes
from taxes, such as income taxes, capital taxes,
and sales and excise taxes.
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An important source of tax revenue in most
industrialized countries is the income or payroll tax,
also known as the personal income tax.
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Income taxes are imposed on labor or activities that
generate income, such as wages or salaries.
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In the United States, income taxes account for
about half of the total revenue of local, state, and
federal governments combined.
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Another important source of government revenue is the
capital tax.
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Capital includes items or facilities that generate profits,
such as factories, business machinery, and real estate.
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Some types of capital taxes are known as “profits” taxes.
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One kind of capital tax used by the federal government is
the corporate income tax.
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A property tax is a capital tax used by state and local
governments. Property taxes are levied on items such as
houses or boats.
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Sales and excise taxes are also a major source of
government tax revenue.
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Many state and local governments levy a sales tax
on the purchase of certain items.
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Consumers usually pay a percentage of the sales
price as the tax.
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Excise taxes are used by all levels of government.
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An excise tax is levied on a specific product, such as
alcohol, cigarettes, or gasoline.
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A government's fiscal policy is the way the
government spends and taxes to influence
the performance of the economy.
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When the government spends more than it
receives, it runs a deficit.
Governments finance deficits by borrowing
money.
Deficit spending—that is, spending funds
obtained by borrowing instead of taxation—
can be helpful for the economy.
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when unemployment is high, the government can
undertake projects that use workers who would
otherwise be idle.
 The economy will then expand because more
money is being pumped into it.
 However, deficit spending also can harm the
economy.
 When unemployment is low, a deficit may result in
rising prices, or inflation. The additional government
spending creates more competition for scarce
workers and resources and this inflates wages and
prices
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Allocation Function
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Distribution Function
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Stabilization Function
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Allocation Function
 Allocation of total resources between private goods and
social goods
 Choosing the mix of social goods
 Taxation and spending as major instruments
 Importance of non-fiscal regulatory instruments
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Distribution Function
 Distribution of income and wealth between various classes
 Taxes and subsidies as major tools
 Under Allocation function, taxes are used to distribute
resources between private and public wants
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Stabilization Function
 Influencing the unemployment, price level and output
 To tone down the effects of economic cycles
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Defined Public Finance as a field of economics is concerned with
how governments raise money, how that money is spent, and the
effects of these activities on the economy and on society.
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Defined the scope of public finance under three heads
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Established the importance of the role of the government in an
economy
 Which has increased due to welfare role
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Established the importance of public revenue, expenditure, debt
and fiscal policy
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Highlighted the major fiscal functions.
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