About the lecture

In this module, we look at public finances and how they relate to public expenditures. In particular, we will focus on: (i) defining the fiscal balance; (ii) defining a structural deficit versus a cyclical deficit; (iii) what expansionary and contractionary fiscal policy does to public expenditures; (iv) defining the national debt and how it differs from the fiscal deficit; and (v) whether or not the level of government debt matters, both for poor and rich countries.

About the lecturer

Dr Paul Segal is a Reader in Economics of Development at King's College London. He specialises in researching global poverty and inequality, the economics of natural resources, and economic history. He has published widely within these areas, including Who Are the Global Top 1%? and The Economy: Economics for a Changing World. He has also written policy articles for FT.com and has collaborated with Oxfam Mexico to undertake empirical fieldwork in Mexico City, analysing multidimensional inequalities.