Global Studies (GLST) 450

Overview

Global Studies 450: Public Budgeting and Financial Management in a Globalized World is a senior-level, three-credit course that examines the theory and practice of public budgeting and financial management in an era of globalization. The course conveys an understanding of the purposes and roles of budgeting in public organization and examines the major trends and the political, economic, and financial considerations involved in budgeting. One such consideration is globalization. Students will explore the impact of globalization on the governance capacity of governments and discuss what globalization means for budgeting.

The course examines the various theories, practices, challenges, and reforms of budgeting and financial management in governments and government agencies. Students will learn what public budgeting and its related theories are; how budgets are formulated; the roles of politics, economics, and management in public budgeting; how public resources should be allocated efficiently; the impact of globalization on the governance capacity of governments; what globalization means for budgeting; and the feasibility of recent public sector reform initiatives. The content deals primarily with budgets and budgeting in Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Research on budgeting, governance, and globalization is reviewed.

Outline

The course consists of the following 12 units.

Unit 1: Introduction to Budgeting and Financial Management in an Era of Globalization

Unit 2: Overview and Trends in Public Budgeting in Canada

Unit 3: Theories of Budgeting

Unit 4: Theory Continued—Politics and Bureaucracy in Public Budgeting

Unit 5: Budgeting in the Federal Government

Unit 6: Budgeting in the Provincial Governments

Unit 7: Budgeting in Municipal Governments

Unit 8: Macroeconomic Issues in Public Budgeting

Unit 9: The Tax System, Tax Expenditures, and Tax Reform

Unit 10: Accountability, Management, and Efficiency of Resource Allocation

Unit 11: Public Sector Reform: Developments in Canada

Unit 12: Reform Initiatives and the Realities of Budgeting

Evaluation

To receive credit for GLST 450, you must complete all of the assignments, achieve a mark of at least 50 percent on the final examination, and obtain a course composite grade of “D” (50 percent) or more. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

3 Written Assignments	Final Examination	Total
60%	40%	100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Other Materials

All other course materials can be accessed online.

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.

Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the GLST 450 challenge registration, you must complete all required components, and achieve an overall grade of at least “D” (50 percent).

Written Assignment 1	Written Assignment 2	Exam	Total
10%	15%	75%	100%

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form