Public Finance

1. Public Choice Theory
   1. Understanding Government Decision-Making
      1. Theoretical Foundations
         1. Rational Choice Theory
         2. Behavioral Economics Impact
         3. Institutional Economics
      2. Models of Government Behavior
         1. Median Voter Theorem
         2. Anthony Downs' Economic Theory of Democracy
         3. Buchanan and Tullock's Calculus of Consent
      3. Bureaucracy and Decision Making
         1. Weberian Bureaucracy Model
         2. Niskanen's Model of Bureaucracy
         3. Principal-Agent Problems in Bureaucracies
   2. Role of Political Influences in Public Finance
      1. Political Economy of Public Policy
         1. Influence of Political Parties on Economic Policies
         2. Lobbying and Interest Groups' Impact on Policy Making
         3. Elections and Political Business Cycles
      2. Rent-Seeking Behavior
         1. Definition and Economic Impact
         2. Case Studies of Rent-Seeking Activities
         3. Mechanisms to Curtail Rent-Seeking
      3. Influence of Legislatures and Coalitions
         1. Legislative Bargaining and Public Choices
         2. Coalition Government Dynamics
   3. Voting Systems and Public Policy Outcomes
      1. Types of Voting Systems
         1. First-Past-The-Post
         2. Proportional Representation
         3. Ranked Choice Voting
      2. Public Goods and Majority Rule
         1. Free Rider Problem
         2. Collective Decision-Making Challenges
      3. Paradoxes in Voting
         1. Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem
         2. Gibbard-Satterthwaite Theorem
      4. Impact of Electoral Systems on Public Finance
         1. Resource Allocation under Different Electoral Systems
         2. Electoral Incentives and Economic Policies
   4. Application of Public Choice Theory to Various Sectors
      1. Healthcare Policy and Public Choice
         1. Allocation of Resources
         2. Healthcare Subsidies and Political Influences
      2. Education Policy Decision-Making
         1. Political Economy of Education Funding
         2. Influence of Unions and Political Actors
      3. Environmental Policy Formation
         1. Regulation and Lobbying
         2. Public Choice in Environmental Taxation
   5. Criticisms and Limitations of Public Choice Theory
      1. Assumptions of Rational Behavior
      2. Limitations of Quantitative Models
      3. Cultural and Social Contexts
      4. Responses to Criticisms
         1. Expanding Models for Real-world Applicability
         2. Incorporating Social and Network Effects