Public Sector Economics

RICHARD W. TRESCH is Professor in the Department of Economics, Boston College, USA. He is author of Public Finance: A Normative Theory (Academic Press) and Principles of Economics (Thompson). His abilities as a teacher were recognized by the award of the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

PART I: INTRODUCTION.- The Foundations of Public Sector Theory.- Market Failures.- The Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economic.- Appendix: Variable Factor Supplies.- PART II: PUBLIC EXPENDITURE THEORY AND POLICY.- The Social Welfare Function and the Quest for Distributive Justice.- Applying the Social Welfare Function.- Externalities: Theoretical Issues.- Externalities: Policy Considerations.- Nonexclusive Goods.- Decreasing Cost Services: the Natural Monopolies.- U.S. Transfer Payments: the Public Choice Perspective.- Practical Issues in Designing Transfers to the Poor.- Social Insurance: Social Security.- PART III: TAX THEORY AND POLICY .- The Pursuit of Equity in Taxation.- Equity Issues with the Federal Personal Income Tax.- Taxes and Inefficiency: the Excess Burden of Taxation .- Combining Equity and Efficiency in Taxation.- Taxes, Transfers, and Imperfect Information.- Tax Incidence: Theoretical Issues.- Tax Incidence: Applications.- PART IV: COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.- Cost-Benefit Analysis.- PART V: FISCAL FEDERALISM.- The Assignment of Functions amongst Governments.- Efficiency and Equity Issues with Mobile Resources.- Grants-in-Aid.- Epilogue: A New Behavioral Public Sector Economics?.