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Using a political-economy perspective this book is an introduction to the responsibilities and limitations of government in a market economy.
List of contents
Part I. Personal and Public Finance: 1. Markets: personal finance; 2. Government: public finance; Part II. Responsibilities of Government: Efficiency: 3. Public goods; 4. Social costs and benefits; 5. Restraint on personal choice; 6. Information and efficiency; Part III. Responsibilities of Government: Social Justice and the Rule of Law: 7. Social insurance and moral hazard; 8. Social justice in taxation; 9. Social justice without government; 10. The rule of law: protection of life and property; Part IV. Limitations of Government: Politics and Policies: 11. Voting and the common pool problem; 12. Politics and efficiency; 13. Politics and income distribution; 14. Personal incentives in government; Part V. Concluding Overview: 15. The growth of government and the need for government; Appendix A. Topics in public policy; Appendix B. Supplements.
About the author
Arye L. Hillman's professional career has been at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He has, as an invited professor, taught at University of California, Los Angeles, Princeton University, New Jersey, the University of Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne), the University of Freiburg, and the Australian National University, and has been an invited fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. He is a joint recipient of the Max-Planck Prize for Humanities Sciences. He has an honorary doctorate from the University of Genoa. He has a B.A. (first-class honours and the University Medal) from the University of Newcastle, New South Wales and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Summary
Public Finance and Public Policy offers an accessible introduction to the responsibilities and limitations of government, addressing the question of when, or the extent to which, a society should forgo the economic freedom of personal choice in markets and rely on government for efficiency and social justice.
