Public works and taxes are frequently featured in the news, whether it be local or international. People should examine possible funding sources as well. Prof. Agosto, the University of San Carlos’s School of Business and Economics’s newest assistant professor, emphasizes the issue. “The delivery of public goods should be looked at in a sustainable way,” Agosto said.
Public finance is primarily concerned with these topics. It concerns how governments handle the public purse, including taxation and spending, and how that affects societal welfare and economic expansion. As a result, it actively participates in the economy by supplying firms and individuals with the goods and services they want.
This semester, Prof. Agosto will teach undergraduates in public finance courses. I’m looking forward to teaching,” he exclaimed. His unique teaching method encourages students to get hands-on with real data through government portals and offices, techniques, and ideas from recently published research. “Public finance, which is a branch of economics, lends itself really well to integrating theory and empirical work and answering socially relevant questions,” he says. Prof. Agosto asserts that “in many cases, we can reduce an ideologically charged question to an empirical quantity that can be measured.”
Professor Agosto is one of the consultants who review the proposed property taxation in the city of Cebu. In assessing and recommending a policy change that was ultimately adopted by the municipal council, he employed the ideas. “Public finance is quite significant right now”, he remarked. His research aims to answer fundamental concerns about the economy, such as how much money should be spent, how taxes should be set up, and, in the case of the tax cut example above, who genuinely stands to gain from it. His more recent studies have delved into public policies and housing issues.
Prof. Agosto received his Master’s in Economics from the University of San Carlos, where he specializes in housing, finance, and the role of government in the economy and public policy. He received Fellow Status from Social Watch Philippines and the People’s Public Finance Institute at the University of the Philippines in Lahug, Cebu City.
Real LexEcon 