Metropolitan College of New York

School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Instructor Lora Levitchi
@mcny.edu llevitchi @mcny.edu
Email
Address
Campus MCNY - 60 West St, New York, NY 10006; Room 702
Address
Office Mon- Frid via email and Skype or Tue- after class
Hours
Purpose 3
Number
Purpose Long Range Planning for Organizational Improvement
Name
Dimension Systems
PowerCam PAA 630 SYS
pus Course
Identification
on Code
Course Public Economics
Title
Credits 2
Prerequisites None

Universal To analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make decisions
Required
Competency

Student In this course, you will develop the ability to explain how changes in the
Learning economy affect the ability of public administrators to deliver services.
Outcome

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Assessment In a three-to-five-page essay, you will explain how changes in the economy might
of Student affect your ability to implement a long-range proposal.
Learning
Outcome You will cite appropriate sources, such as an assigned text, and include supporting
quotations and references

Students will develop the following Abilities for use in the Constructive Action:
a. Describe the natural, social, and technological systems that impact on your strategic
planning effort. Identify critical social, political, economic, and technological factors
that impact strategic planning with emphasis on the role of government.
b. Develop conceptual models of systems related to your strategic planning effort.
Explain how social, political, and economic trends and national and international
events can be used as indicators of the future and ultimately as a guide to planning.
c/d. Identify strengths and weaknesses of systems that may impact on your strategic
planning effort. Identify social, political, economic, and technological trends that may
affect in positive and negative ways the organization’s effort to fulfill its mandate.
e. Work to promote effective long-range planning for service improvement. Prepare a
strategic plan that responds to future predictions in a realistic and empowering way.
Objectives
By the end of the term, you should be able to
 analyze policy issues through the model of economic analysis,
 understand how the overall health of the economy affects the budgets of your
agency,
 distinguish between efficiency concerns and social justice concerns when
devising policy solutions to problems,
 explain why imposing a tax to pay for social services in the name of social
justice is considerably more complex than simply offering an ideological or
moral position,
 engage in trade-offs between an economics approach to formulating policy
solutions and a standard public administration approach,
 explain how social, political, and economic trends and national and international
events can be used as indicators of the future and ultimately as a guide to
planning,
 identify the various externalities, i.e. unintended consequences that arise from
apparently obvious policy solutions,
 identify social, political, economic, and technological trends that may affect in
positive and negative ways the organization’s effort to fulfill its mandate.

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Description Public finance also known as " public sector economics" or " public economics"
is the study of government policies. It analyzes the effects of those policies on
economic activities and the political processes by which those policies come to be in
place.

Public Finance studies the subset of public policies that are fiscal in nature. These
include government taxation, debt, and expenditures. Modern democratic
governments directly control more than a third of their gross national products and
influence much of the rest through their fiscal and regulatory policies.

The purpose of the Systems Dimension 3 is to examine the logic and methods of
economic research and engage in an analysis of contemporary social issues from the
perspective of the discipline of economics. The purpose is to also understand how,
what is occurring in the larger economy, greatly impacts the world of public
administration and how resources at the agency level ultimately get allocated.
Major  Economic way of thinking
Topics  How rule of law affects economic activity
Covered  Government’s relationship to markets and how public goods are distributed
 Taxes and public finance
 Markets-based approach to public policy v. a non-market based (social justice)
approach
 Inequality and income distribution
 Entitlements

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Textbooks Required Text
and Other Arye L. Hillman, Public Finance and Public Policy: Responsibilities and
Readings Limitations of Government Second Edition (Cambridge and New York,
Cambridge University Press, 2009) ISBN: 978-0-521-73805-7

Articles - HMWs

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Calculation Attendance - 10%
of Final HMWs - 10%
Grade Essay synced up with Constructive Action - 40%
Mid Term Exam ( multiple choices) - 20%
Final Term Exam ( multiple choices) - 20%

Grading System
Symbol Grade A 95.0 – 100

A- 91.6-94.9
B+ 91.5 – 88.3
B 85 – 88.2
B- 81.6-84.9
C+ 78.3 – 81.5
C 75– 78.2 Lowest passing grade for Grad students
F 69 and Below

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Standards The college’s standards of academic conduct and student integrity are discussed in its
of Student Handbook.
Academic Standards of Academic Conduct and Student Integrity
Conduct The College expects academic honesty from students and instructors. Students have the
and obligation both to themselves and to the College to make the appropriate College
Student representative aware of instances of academic deceit or dishonesty. Generally, this
Integrity entails making the situation known to the instructor, and if needed, to the Dean of the
student’s school. Likewise, faculty members are responsible for enforcing the stated
academic standards of the College. Instances of violating academic standards might
include, but are not necessarily limited to, the situations outlined below:

Cheating – Receiving or providing unapproved help in any academic task, test or

treatise. Cheating includes the attempt to use or the actual use of any unauthorized
information, educational material, or learning aid in a test or assignment. Cheating
includes multiple submission of any academic exercise more than once for credit
without prior authorization and approval of the instructor.

Plagiarism – Presenting someone else’s work as though it is your own. In an academic

community the use of words, ideas, or discoveries of another person without explicit,
formal acknowledgement constitutes an act of theft or plagiarism. In order to avoid the
charge of plagiarism, students must engage in standard academic practices such as
putting quotation marks around words that are not their own, employing the
appropriate documentation or citation, and including a formal acknowledgement of the
source in the proper format. Each school of MCNY follows a style manual prescribed
in your Purpose Handbook. Students are responsible for following that style.

Fabrication – Inventing or falsifying any data, information, or records.

Obstruction – Impeding the ability of another student to perform assigned work.

Collusion – Assisting any of the above situations or performing work that another
student presents as his or her own.

Penalties The college’s penalties for academic misconduct are discussed in its Student Handbook
for
Academic
Misconduct

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Attendance The college’s attendance policy is discussed in its Student Handbook.
Policy Students are required to arrive on time and attend all scheduled classes, to complete all
assignments by the due date, and to actively participate in class discussions. Faculty
members are required to take attendance during each class session and must keep their
own attendance rosters. Additionally, students are responsible for knowing missed
material. Faculty need not offer make-ups or extensions for missed work. Students
who accumulate 3 absences are jeopardizing their good standing and are n danger of
failing. Students who accumulate excessive absences or lateness may be recommended
or withdrawal. Any student who has missed the first 2 sessions per class in a term will
not be allowed to begin classes.

Grades and The college’s grades and symbols are discussed in its Student Handbook.
Symbols
A C (Satisfactory) is the lowest passing grade for graduate students.
Incomplete The college’s policy regarding incomplete grades is discussed in its Student Handbook.
Grades
Grade The college’s policies regarding grade appeals are discussed in its Student Handbook.
Appeals

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
General Document Guidelines
Writing  Margins: One inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
Guidelines  Font Size and Type: 12-pt. Times New Roman font
 Line Spacing: Double-space throughout the paper, including the title page, abstract,
body of the document, references, appendixes, footnotes, tables, and figures.
 Spacing after Punctuation: Space once after commas, colons, and semicolons within
sentences. Insert two spaces after punctuation ending sentences.
 Alignment: Flush left (creating uneven right margin)
 Paragraph Indentation: 5-7 spaces
 Pagination: The page number appears one inch from the right edge of the paper on the
first line of every page.
 Running Head: The running head is a short title that appears at the top of the pages of
a paper or published article. The running head is typed flush left (all uppercase)
following "Running head:" at the top of all pages (including the title page). The
running head should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation and spacing.
Using most word processors, the running head and page number can be inserted into a
header, which then automatically appears on all pages.
 Active voice: As a general rule, use the active voice rather than the passive voice. For
example, use "We predicted that ..." rather than "It was predicted that ..."
 Order of Pages: Title Page, Abstract, Body, References, Appendixes, Footnotes,
Tables, Figures

APA (American Psychological Association) Citation Criteria:

Text citations: Source material must be documented in the body of the paper by citing the
author(s) and date(s) of the sources. The underlying principle is that ideas and words of others
must be formally acknowledged. The reader can obtain the full source citation from the list of
references that follows the body of the paper.

APA (is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource offers
examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes,
and the reference page.
Example of APA-formatted References: Go to http://www.apastyle.org/
And Click on ‘Learning APA Style’
ADDITION The Learning Enhancement Center (LEC) has a sincere commitment to preparing students
AL for academic success in class and to developing professional relationships with students, staff,
ACADEMIC and faculty. The LEC’s Mission is to improve student learning by providing academic support
SUPPORT for the students outside the classroom and maximizing intellectual growth by encouraging self-
assessment as students develop stronger reading, writing, math, and study skills. To schedule
an appointment contact: lec@mcny.edu or call 212-343-1234 ext 2438.The LEC is located in
the MCNY Library on the 7th floor.

MCNY Mentors Program: call 212-343-1234 Ext 2437 • mentor@mcny.edu

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019

HMWs
Date Course Outline Readings
Articles
1 Sept. Syllabus HMW- 1
10th Introduction to the Course materials and relevant
requirements article for
the
upcoming
lesson- 1
page- write
what you
found
interesting,
what you
found that
can be
improved.
2 Markets and Governments HMW1

Fiscal policy in the United States and

OECD countries: growth of tax and
expenditures, composition of, increasing
centralization. Theories of governmental
action, relationship between "optimal" Arye Hillman's
expenditures and taxation. book:
Sept. 17
Ch. 1
Welfare Economics: Positive and
Normative Analysis: the Pareto principles,
Cost-Benefit Analysis, Rational choice as
an application of cost-benefit analysis.

Essay themes

3 Public Good and Externalities HMW2

Arye Hillman's
Sept. Public and Private Goods, the free rider book: Ch. 2.1, 2.2,
24th problem; Pareto optimal supply of public 4.1,
goods, Samuelsonian and Lindalh Taxes; 4A, 4C
Externalities and Market Failures, Pigovian

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
taxes. Applications: national defense, clean
air and water, highways, welfare
4 Taxes and Public Finance HMW3

How taxes influence market prices and its

output; deadweight loss in the long and
short run; neutral taxes and excess burden;
Ramsay taxation, progressive and
proportional income taxes and the labor-
leisure tradeoff. Applications: property
Arye Hillman's
taxes, excise taxes, head taxes, and income
book:
Oct. 1st taxes.
Ch 4.1, 4.2 and 9.1
Normative Principles of Tax Analysis
Theories of Optimal Taxation: Ramsay and
Henry Georgian taxation (minimizing dead
weight loss), Utilitarian: progressive and
regressive taxation, neutral taxation,
Contractarian theories of taxation
(Buchanan and Rawls), Benefit Taxation
(Lindalh), generality norms.
5 Principles of Expenditure Analysis and HMW4
Debt

How subsides influence market

equilibrium, deadweight losses - excess
burden or allocative inefficiency - in the Arye Hillman's
long and short run, conditional marginal book:
and lump sum subsides. Applications: farm Ch. 2.1, 5.2
Oct 8th
subsidies, food stamps, rent subsidies,
public education, and unemployment
insurance. Altruism, Ricardian neutrality,
limits to inter-generational shifting of taxes,
political biases favoring debt over taxes,
Keynesian macroeconomics, crowding out,
balanced budget amendments,
redistribution.
6 Oct.15th Public Finance and Relationships Among Arye Hillman's HMW5
Governments book:

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
Ch. 3.1, 3.2, 4.2
The Tiebout Model, Decentralization,
Intergovernmental Externalities and
Economies of Scale (an optimal federal
system). Applications: decentralization,
fiscal federalism, capital flight.
7 Oct 22 Voting Arye Hillman's HMW6
book: Ch. 6.1, 6.2,
The Political demand for government 6.3, 6C and 9.1
services and taxes

The median voter model and the demand

for public services. The median voter
model, bureaucracy as an interest group,
interest groups, rent-seeking, fiscal illusion,
and the jury theorem
8 Discussion and Review for the First
Oct.
Exam (last hour) Study Guide I
29nd
Review Essay
9 Nov. 5th Midterm Exam
10 Nov . Applications to Contemporary Public Arye Hillman's HMW7
12th Finance book: Ch. 5.1, 5B,
Review of Social Security 10.1, 10.B
The pay-as-you-go-rule
- Paygo, Digressive taxation, Myth of the
"Lock Box"
11 Nov.19th Applications to Contemporary Public HMW8
Finance
Review of Taxation and Reform ,
Decentralization, International Taxation Arye Hillman's
and Growth, Future / Recent Tax Reforms book: Ch. 7A, 7B,
(CBO analysis), Analysis of Major Tax 7C
Reforms (US Treasury White Paper, 2002,
O'Neill) History of Taxation in the US

12 Nov. Entitlements Arye Hillman's

26th book: Ch. 8

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 Metropolitan College of New York
School for Public Affairs and Administration

Master of Public Administration – Public Affairs and Administration Program

Syllabus
Fall 2019
13 Review Final Exam Study Guide II
Dec. 3rd
Essay
14 Dec 10th Final Exam

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