Meaning:
Public finance is a study of income and expenditure or receipt and payment of government. It deals the income raised through revenue and expenditure spend on the activities of the community and the terms ‘finance’ is money resource i.e. coins. But public is collected name for individual within an administrative territory and finance.
On the other hand, it refers to income and expenditure. Thus public finance in this manner can be said the science of the income and expenditure of the government.
Different economists have defined public finance differently. Some of the definitions are given below.
According to prof. Dalton “public finance is one of those subjects that lie on the border lie between economics and politics. It is concerned with income and expenditure of public authorities and with the mutual adjustment of one another. The principal of public finance are the general principles, which may be laid down with regard to these matters.
According to Adam Smith,“public finance is an investigation into the nature and principles of the state revenue and expenditure”
To sum up, public finance is the subject, which studies the income and expenditure of the government. In simpler manner, public finance embodies the study of collection of revenue and expenditure in the public interest for the welfare of the country.
Importance (Significance) of Public Finance:
There is great socio-economic significance of public finance, both in developed and developing countries. In developed country countries, price-stability and full employment are the main economic goals of public finance. In developing countries, rapid economic development through capital formulation and creation of infrastructure art the important goals of public finance operations. Socially equitable distributions of income, reduction of inequalities in income are some important functions of public finance operations. The importance of public finance can be clarified from the following functions.
1. To Increase the Rate of Saving and Investment: Most of the people spend their income on consumption. Saving is very low so the investment is also low. The government can encourage the saving and investment.
2. To Secure Equal Distribution of income and Wealth: Unequal distribution of income and wealth is the basic problem of the under developed countries. The rich are getting richer and richer while the poor are becoming poorer and poorer. So for the equal distribution of income and wealth there is need of government.
3. Optimum Allocation of Resources: Fiscal measures like taxation and public expenditure programmers can greatly affect the allocation of resources in various occupation and sectors.
4. Capital Formulation and Growth: Fiscal policy will be designed in a manner to perform two functions as of expanding investment in public and private enterprises and by diverting resources from socially less desirable to more desirable investment channels.
5. Promoting Economic Development: The state can play a prominent role in promoting economic development especially through control and regulation of economic activities. It is fiscal policy which can promote economic development.
6. Implementation of Planning: Under democratic planning fiscal policy plays crucial role as financial plan is as much important as physical plan and the implementation of the financial will obviously depend upon the uses of fiscal measures.
7. Infrastructure Building: Public finance helps to build up well-development physical and institutional infrastructure.
8. To Control Inflation: The imbalance between demand for and supply of real resources may lead to inflations to under-development countries inflation ruins the entire economic structure of the national and the process of economic development in these countries comes to stand still. So to check inflation, budgetary policies can be used by the government.