This course aims to get students thinking about politics and policy as a part of their everyday life. We treat politics as a struggle among competing advocates trying to persuade others to see the world as they do, working within a context that is structured primarily by institutions and cultural ideas. We’ll begin by developing a policymaking framework, understanding ideology, and taking a whirlwind tour of the American political system. Then, we’ll examine six policy issues in depth: health care, gun control, the federal budget, immigration reform, same-sex marriage, and energy and climate change.

Is Mexico the most dynamic economy in Latin America?  After some tough times in the 1980s and 90s, Mexico has emerged as one of the economic leaders of the region.  Where does it stand among other emerging markets and what are its prospects for the future? In this four-week course, we will study the modern Mexican economy, some of the unique elements of development in a one-party, authoritarian regime, and some of the challenges the country faced in getting to this point.

In This Collection: Media Gallery (2), Video (2), Interactive (1), Lesson Plan (1) for Grades 6-8, 9-12

Principles of Macroeconomics is an adaptation of the textbook, Macroeconomics: Theory, Markets, and Policy by D. Curtis and I. Irvine, and presents a complete and concise examination of introductory macroeconomics theory and policy suitable for a first introductory course.

Examples are domestic and international in their subject matter and are of the modern era — financial markets, monetary and fiscal policies aimed at inflation and debt control, globalization and the importance of trade flows in economic structure, and concerns about slow growth and the risk of deflation, are included.

This textbook is intended for a one-semester course, and can be used in a two-semester sequence with the companion textbook, Principles of Microeconomics. The three introductory chapters are common to both textbooks.

This course covers theory and evidence on government taxation policy. Topics include tax incidence, optimal tax theory, the effect of taxation on labor supply and savings, taxation and corporate behavior, and tax expenditure policy.

Students will be able to
Understand the rising national trends in student debt
Compare federal and private loans and explain what it means to take out each type of loan
Identify various strategies they can use to be a responsible borrower
Analyze three student profiles to determine the best course of action to take for their student loans

This volume is the first in a series of studies by the Conference on Research in National Income and Wealth (CRIW). The selected papers in this volume are from the meetings of the American Economic and American Statistical Associations in December 1936, and from the second CRIW meeting in January 1937.

This textbook is not intended to be an exhaustive treatise; rather, it is intended to be far more useful than that for beginning tax law students by equipping the novice not merely with unmoored detail but rather with a rich blueprint that illuminates the deeper structural framework on which that detail hangs (sometimes crookedly). Chapter 1 outlines the conceptual meaning of the term “income” for uniquely tax purposes (as opposed to financial accounting or trust law purposes, for example) and examines the Internal Revenue Code provisions that translate this larger conceptual construct into positive law. Chapter 2 explores various forms of consumption taxation because the modern Internal Revenue Code is best perceived as a hybrid income-consumption tax that also contains many provisions—for wise or unwise nontax policy reasons—that are inconsistent with both forms of taxation. Chapter 3 then provides students with the story of how we got to where we are today, important context about the distribution of the tax burden, the budget, and economic trends, as well as material on ethical debates, economic theories, and politics as they affect taxation.

Armed with this larger blueprint, students are then in a much better position to see how the myriad pieces that follow throughout the remaining 19 chapters fit into this bigger picture, whether comfortably or uncomfortably. For example, they are in a better position to appreciate how applying the income tax rules for debt to a debt-financed investment afforded more favorable consumption tax treatment creates tax arbitrage problems. Congress and the courts then must combat these tax shelter opportunities (sometimes ineffectively) with both statutory and common law weapons. Stated another way, students are in a better position to appreciate how the tax system can sometimes be used to generate (or combat) unfair and economically inefficient rent-seeking behavior.

In 2011, federal government spending significantly outweighed revenue. While the federal government spent $3.8 trillion, it collected only $2.2 trillion from various taxes, licenses, and fees. In this video, Professor Antony Davies of Duquesne University explores what the federal government is spending money on and what can be cut to balance the budget.

The national debt is so big that it's often hard to comprehend. In this video, Professor Antony Davies of Duquesne University presents the government’s fiscal situation scaled down to the level of an average household to help students understand the national debt.

Many have suggested raising taxes on the richest Americans to help offset pay off the national debt. In this video, Professor Antony Davies of Duquesne University uses data to assess how much of a difference taxing the rich would make.