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The state's most fundamental task is the centralization of resources to finance its opera-tions and policies. Without revenue the state ceases to exist. To finance itself, the state can raise debt, create money, impose taxes, sell natural resources, or conquer other states for tribute. All of these options involve political conflict. How much debt should the state incur with whom and under which conditions? Who pays how much taxes? And who has the right to create money? How conflicts over these questions are resolved reflects the distribution of power within societies but often also between countries, for instance when we think of international lending.

This seminar provides students with an introduction into the Political Economy literature on state financing that analyzes the dynamics described above. We study the emergence of sovereign debt and taxation in historical perspective and across world regions. We identify important institutional, political, and economic drivers of the expansion of state budgets and discuss contemporary challenges to and innovations in state financing. These include central banks' asset purchasing programs, the increasing use of off-balance sheet fiscal agencies to circumvent budgetary rules and parliamentary oversight, and the fiscal responses to the financial and climate crises.

Next to familiarizing students with Political Economy research on state financing, the seminar also provides a thorough introduction to the main elements of research design and seeks to enable students to formulate their own puzzles and research questions.

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