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Public economics

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Public economics (or economics of the public sector) is the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and equity. Public economics builds on the theory of welfare economics and is ultimately used as a tool to improve social welfare. Welfare can be defined in terms of well-being, prosperity, and overall state of being.

Public economics provides a framework for thinking about whether or not the government should participate in economic markets and if so to what extent it should do so. Microeconomic theory is utilized to assess whether the private market is likely to provide efficient outcomes in the absence of governmental interference; this study involves the analysis of government taxation and expenditures.

This subject encompasses a host of topics notably market failures such as, public goods, externalities and Imperfect Competition, and the creation and implementation of government policy.[1]

Broad methods and topics include:

Emphasis is on analytical and scientific methods and normative-ethical analysis, as distinguished from ideology. Examples of topics covered are tax incidence,[7] optimal taxation,[8] and the theory of public goods.[9]

  1. ^ Serge-Christophe Kolm, 1987. "public economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 1047–55. Table of Contents.
  2. ^ • Richard A. Musgrave, 2008. "public finance," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • _____, 1959.     The Theory of Public Finance: A Study in Public Economy. J.M. Buchanan review, 1st page.
  3. ^ • Dani Rodrik, 1996. "Understanding Economic Policy Reform," Journal of Economic Literature, 34(1), pp. 9–41. Archived June 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
    From The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online, 2008. Abstract links for:
       • behavioural public economics" by B. Douglas Bernheim and Antonio Rangel
       • "fiscal federalism" by David E. Wildasin
       • "hazardous waste, the economics of" by Hilary Sigman.
       • "nutrition and public policy in advanced economies" by Janet Currie.
  4. ^ The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2008, 2nd Edition. Abstract/contents links for:
      • "public finance" by Richard A. Musgrave
       • "consumption taxation" by James M. Poterba
       • "distributive politics and targeted public spending" by Brian G. Knight
       • "generational accounting" by Jagadeesh Gokhale
       • "nutrition and public policy in advanced economies" by Janet Currie
       • "progressive and regressive taxation" by William Vickrey and Efe A. Ok
       • "redistribution of income and wealth" by F.A. Cowell
       • "tax expenditures" by Daniel N. Shaviro
       • "taxation and poverty" by John Karl Scholz
       • "welfare state" by Assar Lindbeck.
       • social insurance and public policy by Jonathan Gruber.
  5. ^ The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2008, 2nd Edition. Abstract links for:
       • "market failure" by John O. Ledyard
       • "bureaucracy" by Mancur Olson
       • "health insurance, the economics of" by Joseph P. Newhouse
       • "mandated employer provision of employee benefits" by Jonathan Gruber
       • "public goods" by Agnar Sandmo
  6. ^ • Sharun W. Mukand, 2008. "policy reform, political economy of," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • James M. Buchanan, 2008. "public debt," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Mrinal Datta-Chaudhuri, 1990. "Market Failure and Government Failure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(3), pp. 25-39..
       • Kenneth J. Arrow, 1969. "The Organization of Economic Activity: Issues Pertinent to the Choice of Market versus Non-market Allocations," in Analysis and Evaluation of Public Expenditures: The PPP System. Washington, D.C., Joint Economic Committee of Congress. PDF reprint as pp. 1-16 (press +).
       • Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2009. "Regulation and Failure," in David Moss and John Cisternino (eds.), New Perspectives on Regulation, ch. 1, pp. 11-23. Archived February 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Cambridge: The Tobin Project.
  7. ^ Gilbert E. Metcalf, 2008. "tax incidence," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
  8. ^ Louis Kaplow, 2008. "optimal taxation," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
  9. ^ • Agnar Sandmo, 2008."public goods," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
       • Serge-Christophe Kolm, 1987. "public economics," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 1047-48.
       • Anthony B. Atkinson and Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1980. Lectures in Public Economics, McGraw-Hill, pp. vii-xi.
       • Mancur Olson, 1971, 2nd ed.The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Harvard University Press, Description and chapter-previews links, pp. ix-x.