A．Overview    

Public finance is the foundation and an important pillar of state governance and has been in close connection with politics and economics since its creation. The science of public finance studies government participation in the economy to achieve its political and policy objectives. The government is the core in the study of public finance theory; the roles of the government and private sectors and their interactive relations constitute the basic research question of the discipline. By leveraging multi-disciplinary analysis paradigm and research methodologies, this discipline primarily deals with government budget, government fiscal practice, inter-governmental fiscal relations, the organizational structure of the government and its decision-making models, policy making, and particularly the interactive and evolutionary relations between the public and private sectors in the market. Nowadays, public finance rests at the intersection of many disciplines, such as economics, management science, political science and sociology. Under the analysis paradigm of public finance, the cross-disciplinary approach of analysis and research is integrated into the theoretical framework to establish the disciplinary system that can interpret and predict fiscal activities and phenomenon in a scientific way, disclose fiscal patterns, as well as build complete knowledge framework and methodologies. 

B. Field of Specialization         

Three research fields are set in this Program in a bid to cultivating inter-disciplinary talents who are capable of putting knowledge into practice, exploring new frontiers and driving innovation. The Program utilizes the research capacity and field of specialization of the academic leader; endeavors to optimize the allocation of the researchers’ portfolio, and therefore, it give play to the disciplinary advantages and features of its education. The fields of specialization are as follows:

• Basic fiscal theory and fiscal policy: it describes and analyzes the latest development of the basic fiscal theory as well as the integration of public finance with multiple disciplines. Proceeded from the perspectives of political science, economics and sociology, and by applying the cross-disciplinary way of thinking, major fiscal issues such as government budget, fiscal policy, fiscal project assessment, and organizational structure of the government, are studied. By tracking the latest development of the contemporary fiscal theories from home and abroad, and understanding the implementation of their fiscal policies, the study highlights the coordination of fiscal policies with other economic policies.  

• Fiscal administration and international taxation: it is concerned with the fiscal issues from the global perspective, including the theories and policies of international taxation, comparative study of fiscal systems, international tax planning and administration of anti-tax avoidance, international tax treaty and rule by law, cross-border transfer pricing management, etc. It emphasizes the integration between China and the world, theories and practices, political law and finance. Under the national strategy of globalization, the Program aims to foster high-caliber international tax professionals for government authorities, international organizations, multinationals, and international consulting firms for tax, accounting and law. 

C. Objectives

The Program is keen on fostering the truth-seeking spirit of the students who take a rigorous approach to science, and practice the socialist values. Upon graduation, the students shall have a systematic understanding of the core principles and latest theories in public finance and taxation, proficiently apply the world’s cutting-edge research methodologies and tools, and comprehend China’s current fiscal policies and history; the students shall be equipped with the knowledge and skills for policy analysis and fiscal administration. Ultimately, the students shall have the knowledge and methodology reserved for their pursuit of doctor’s degree related to public finance in the top universities or research institutions from home and abroad, or they shall serve as the highly-specialized professionals working at think tanks, consulting firms, government agencies, law firms and accounting firms, etc.