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LeadAfrik
Intermediate · Self-paced2026 Edition

Public Finance & Taxation

What governments do, how they pay for it, who really bears the burden. Built around the Kenyan / East African tax architecture and the structural realities (informality, narrow PAYE base, devolution) that make textbook public finance only half the story.

9

Modules

~8h 15m

Reading time

Intermediate

Level

Self-paced

Format

§

Syllabus

  1. 01

    The role of government

    Musgrave's four functions (allocation, distribution, stabilisation, regulation), market failure, public goods, the Tinbergen rule.

    ~50 minModule 01
    →
  2. 02

    Optimal taxation theory

    Deadweight loss, the Ramsey inverse-elasticity rule, the Diamond-Mirrlees uniform-taxation result, and the Laffer curve.

    ~60 minModule 02
    →
  3. 03

    Tax incidence — who really pays

    Statutory vs economic incidence, the elasticity-share formula, the corporate-income-tax incidence puzzle.

    ~55 minModule 03
    →
  4. 04

    Direct taxes — income, corporate, capital

    PAYE schedules, marginal vs average rates, BEPS and Pillar 2, the labour-capital rate gap.

    ~55 minModule 04
    →
  5. 05

    Indirect taxes — VAT, excise, customs

    VAT chain mechanics, zero-rating vs exemption, Pigouvian excise, the customs cascade and landed cost.

    ~55 minModule 05
    →
  6. 06

    Tax administration & revenue mobilisation

    Registration, filing, audit, collection. Withholding dominance, eTIMS revolution, presumptive taxation.

    ~55 minModule 06
    →
  7. 07

    Fiscal federalism & devolution

    Assignment problem, subsidiarity, Kenya's Article 203 equitable share, CRA formula evolution.

    ~50 minModule 07
    →
  8. 08

    Public spending — targeting & evaluation

    Targeting vs universal provision, cost-benefit analysis, the marginal value of public funds (MVPF).

    ~60 minModule 08
    →
  9. 09

    Fiscal policy and stabilisation

    Automatic stabilisers vs discretionary policy, fiscal multipliers, debt sustainability dynamics.

    ~55 minModule 09
    →

How to use this course

Start with module 01 if the material is new; skip ahead if you have prior exposure. Each module is self-contained but the arc is sequential — the projects in the final module assume the toolkit from modules 1-11. Every module ends with key takeaways and a curated further-reading list with primary sources.