This is a class about American economic policy, with an emphasis on the U.S. federal budget: government spending, taxes, deficits, and debt. We will examine decisions faced by elected officials and their advisors in the real world. These decisions are made at the messy intersection of economic theory, numbers and accounting, other policy considerations, the Constitution & the law, politics and communications, and the real-world challenges of practical governance. This class is for beginners and assumes no prior knowledge of policy or politics.
4 units · GSB Letter Graded
This is a class about American economic policy, with an emphasis on the U.S. federal budget: government spending, taxes, deficits, and debt. We will examine decisions faced by elected officials and their advisors in the real world. These decisions are made at the messy intersection of economic theory, numbers and accounting, other policy considerations, the Constitution & the law, politics and communications, and the real-world challenges of practical governance. This class is for beginners and assumes no prior knowledge of policy or politics.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.