ECON 3440 — Public Finance
4 semester hoursUndergraduateLectureusually offered: fall, springBostonTraditional
Presents an overview of the economics of government and the role of public policy. Develops guidelines to determine which economic activities are best performed by government and which are not. Also examines the impact of tax policies on efficiency, economic growth, and equity. Topics include market failures, public choice, the personal income tax, the corporate tax, sales tax, and taxation of capital and wealth, and options for reform of the tax structure. Major spending programs such as social security and education and healthcare are analyzed.
Prerequisites
- one of:
- ECON 1116 (min D-)
- ECO 213M
Offering history
| Term | Sections | Enrolled | Capacity | Full | Open seats/section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2023 | 1 | 19 | 19 | 100% | 0.0 |
| Spring 2024 | 1 | 41 | 41 | 100% | 0.0 |
| Fall 2024 | 1 | 50 | 51 | 98% | 1.0 |
| Fall 2025 | 1 | 42 | 43 | 98% | 1.0 |
| Spring 2026 | 1 | 43 | 43 | 100% | 0.0 |
Snapshots from scheduled scrapes — not live seat availability. "Full" can exceed 100% when sections over-enroll.
Meeting times
Share of recent sections by weekday: M 26% · T 31% · W 22% · Th 22% · F 31%
Common patterns: TF (31% of sections), M (26% of sections), R (22% of sections), W (22% of sections) — in patterns, R means Thursday
Professors
Fall
- Robert Triest (83% of students) · reviews
- Thomas Barnay (17% of students) · reviews
Spring
- Robert Triest (51% of students) · reviews
- Thomas Barnay (49% of students) · reviews
Percentages are each professor's average share of the season's enrolled students in recent terms.
Links
Official catalog (ECON course descriptions) · Student reviews on RateMyHusky · All ECON courses · Plan it at numap.app