Understanding Fiscal Policy and Public Debt

📋 Course Outline

1. State intervention in economic theories and liberal skepticism
2. Keynesian perspective on state economic roles and welfare objectives
3. Cyclical versus structural economic policies and their objectives
4. Fiscal policy as a tool for economic regulation and stimulus
5. Mechanisms and multipliers of fiscal stimulus policies
6. Limits of fiscal policy: inflation, crowding-out, and financing deficits
7. Public debt dynamics and fiscal sustainability challenges
8. External and institutional constraints on fiscal policy in the euro area

📖 1. State intervention in economic theories and liberal skepticism

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Market mechanisms : Economic processes that operate through individual choices and interactions, considered inherently balancing and optimal by liberals, ensuring prosperity without state interference.
• State in economic theories : The role and functions assigned to the state within various economic schools of thought, including minimal intervention by liberals and active regulation by Keynesians.

📝 Essential Points