Book Description

This up-to-date new textbook provides a thorough treatment of all the central topics in public economics. Aimed at senior undergraduate and graduate students, it will also be invaluable to professional economists and to those teaching in the field. The book is entirely self-contained, giving all the equilibrium theory and welfare economics needed to understand the analyses. The author covers the Arrow-Debreu economy, welfare economics and the measurement of inequality and povery which lay the foundations and emphasize the important role played by information.Within the competitive economy, he examines commodity taxation, income taxation and tax reform in a certain environment.He goes on to study the public economics of uncertainty, and then treats public goods, externalities, imperfect competition and tax evasion as departures from the standard competitive assumptions and looks at their implication for public economics derived.Finally, after treatment of the overlapping generations economy, he addresses intertemporal issues concerning social security and debts. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A solid book
This is a solid treatment of public economic theory as it has developed since the work of Samuelson. The book starts by developing the general equilibrium approach to studying public economics and proceeds to relax assumptions and introduce new ideas. Most big topics in public econ are treated to some extent.

The book is aimed at graduate students or advanced undergrads. For the latter use one would really require supplementary material introducing some major empirical trends in public finance, unless the students have had it already.

The flipside of the breadth of the book is that its depth is limited on some important topics. Naturally different people have different beliefs about the appropriate stress, but incomplete information in particular received nowhere near the treatment it should have. There's some mention, and naturally some comes through in the treatment of optimal taxation, but it's not enough to enable someone to make any sense of the many and important results treating public econ from a mechanism design standpoint, which is a reasonable goal for a book like this. Bayesian equilibrium is not even formally defined. Laffont's text _Fundamentals of Public Economics_ has some more emphasis on this (his _Economics of Information and Uncertainty_ has even more, though not specifically from a public econ perspective). Chapter 6 of Myerson's _Game Theory_ and chapter 7 of Fudenberg & Tirole's _Game Theory_ may be useful supplements also. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Comprehensive!
This book is thorough and comprehensive in scope. It tells you exactly what you need to know to apply for a grant from the many organizations it lists. A good measure of its worth is that it's in its 11th update. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Terrific collection of papers on taxation, government debt
Volume 14 of James M. Buchanan's Collected Works series contains his papers on taxation and on public debt finance.The papers supplement Buchanan's book-length treatments of those subjects (which are, roughly, volumes 2, 4, 8, and 9 in the series).

The papers on taxation are divided into four categories: public choice, earmarking, tax limitations, and fiscal constitutionalism.The dominant theme is the shortcomings of orthodox public finance theory, as observed from a public-choice perspective.Public finance-based tax theory tends to neglect the expenditure side of the government budget.Public finance focuses too much on outcomes, whether of justice or efficiency or economic growth, and not enough on the process by or rules under which these outcomes are obtained.And public finance theory tends to not adequately consider the political setting within which collective choices are made.In short, public finance is interested in what's best for government, while public choice is more interested in what's best for individual citizens.

Buchanan's views on public debt finance can be summarized as follows.
(i.) Public debt constitutes a burden on future generations (we do not "owe it to ourselves").This is unfair because those future generations end up facing a financial burden that is the result of spending and borrowing decisions in which they had no participation.
(ii.) The tendency in elective majoritarian democracy becomes for government to borrow and spend rather than tax and spend, and to spend much rather than little."The most elementary prediction from public choice theory is that in the absence of moral or constitutional constraints democracies will finance some share of current public consumption from debt issue rather than from taxation and that, in consequence, spending rates will be higher than would accrue under budget balance." (p. 471)To correct for these defects, Buchanan favors a constitutional balanced budget amendment.Along the way he also thoroughly debunks Robert J. Barro's famous interpretation of Ricardian equivalence.

Most papers in this volume are clearly academic in nature, as are Buchanan's books on the same topics.Personally, I prefer the papers over the books, since they offer the same substance in more concentrated fashion, which means you receive more bang for your buck and for your time invested reading.With this volume, it's time that is very well spent.
... Read more

Book Description

This examination of the fiscal health of local governments offers a "how-to" approach to identifying and solving financial problems. It will serve as a primer for readers interested in understanding financial processes and alternatives, and as a practical guide for those who need access to fiscal measurement tools. Its principal selling point lies in its assumptions:instead of using the vocabulary and research agendas of economists (such as Musgrave, Fisher), finance scholars (Ladd/Yinger) and political scientists (Peterson/Strachota), it will appeal to readers who lack sophisticated knowledge in these areas and nevertheless need practical advice.

The book stems from the "Fiscal Health Education Program," an applied economics program at the University of Minnesota.It uses three measures of fiscal health-financial condition, trend analysis, and financial trend monitoring system-as the basis for advocating particular fiscal strategies. The book examines the tools that can be used to assess the condition of a local government's fiscal health and some of the policy causes or remedies for certain situations, as well as some of the strategies governments can pursue to maintain and improve health.

*How-to approach will appeal to readers who lack sophisticated knowledge
* Contains discussion questions and anonymous case studies of actual cities and municipalities
* Presents practical methods for identifying and solving common fiscal problems ... Read more

Book Description

As the election-year rhetoric on balancing the federal budget heats up, this contrarian book-written by a long-time Washington insider-will lead the debate. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in the government, the author shatters five long-held myths and upholds one reality about what is now a $5 thrillion national debt-essentially revealing that the public debt is not all bad news, but that spending control should be an imperative for the leaders of tomorrow. Arguing that political leaders from both the left and the right use scare tactics to prey on our fears about the national debt, the author maintains that the problem is undisiplined government expenditures, not the way of paying for them-whether through increasing the debt or raising taxes. He proposes a redefinition of the federal deficit to restore discipline and confidence in the management of the government's finances. He also explains the effects of the debt on future generations, private investment, interest rates, social security, and foreign investment, and renews the call for a balanced federal budget. ... Read more

Book Description

Stein and Bickers explore the policy subsystems--links among members of Congress, interest groups, government agencies--that blanket the American political landscape. They employ a new data base detailing federal outlays to Congressional districts for each federal program to examine four myths about the impact of policy subsystems on American government: that policy subsystems are a major contributor to the federal deficit, that federal programs grow and rarely die, that subsystem actors seek to universalize the scope of program benefits, and that the flow of program benefits to constituencies ensures legislators' reelection. ... Read more

Book Description

This book presents a radically different argument for what has caused, and likely will continue to cause, the collapse of emerging market economies. Pettis combines the insights of economic history, economic theory, and finance theory into a comprehensive model for understanding sovereign liability management and the causes of financial crises.He examines recent financial crises in emerging market countries along with the history of international lending since the 1820s to argue that the process of international lending is driven primarily by external events and not by local politics and/or economic policies. He draws out the corporate finance implications of this approach to argue that most of the current analyses of trecent financial crises suffered by Latin America, Asia, and Russia have largely missed the point. He then develops a sovereign finance model, analogous to corporate finance, to understand the capital structure needs of emerging market countries. Using this model, he finally puts into perspective the recent crises, a new sovereign liability management theory, the implications of the model for sovereign debt restructurings, and the new financial architecture. Bridging the gap between finance specialists and traders, on the one hand, and economists and policy-makers on the other, The Volatility Machine is critical reading for anyone interested in where the international economy is going over the next several years. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Exonerates the hedge funds
One of the most common (mis)interpretations of the east Asian currency crises of the late 1990s is that they were caused by George Soros and other speculators, hedge fund principals for the most part, who shorted those currencies and the respective bonds in order to create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I was happy to se that Mr. Pettis knows better. He writes that he was in regular contact with three large macro hedge funds in 1997, in his capacity as an emerging markets specialist for Bear Stearns, "including the most famous of these, and our discussions about Asia generally centered on ways to gain protected access to LONG rupiah positions. There was very little interest in shorting the currency."

Indonesia and its rupiah provides a particularly vivid example of the capital structure trap that Pettis adumbrates so admirably in this book.

A refreshing view
Michael Pettis has succeeded in mystifying the collapse of EM economies. His approach is new and indeed very methodical. I found the book intellectually challenging and have learned quite a lot reading it. I highly recommend it for those who want to understand how LDC economies rise and fall. Having a background in corpporate finance is crucial to enjoying the book though.

Understand What's Happening In Emerging Markets
This is a MUST READ for institutional investors worldwide! For the first time I have a confident sense of what is at the core of emerging market instability. Now if only some government policy makers would read this (even they would understand it!), the causal conditions might start to improve.

A breakthrough in economic theory
This book completely transformed the way I think about sovereign financial crises. Michael Pettis creates a simple yet elegant framework by which to think of sovereign crises, the fundametal problems which precede them and potential solutions. This book should be every finance minister's primary reference tool for the development of sovereign capital structure. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Why is it that Americans, who by most objective standards have never had it so good, (longer lives, easier jobs, more money, more personal fulfillment, less discrimination) think the nation is going to hell in a handbasket?Wealthier and freer than ever before, Americans focus on crime, family breakdown, and the depressed economy. Newsweek and Washington Post writer Robert J. Samuelson looks at history, sociology, the media, and political promises as he studies this strange paradox. Americans, he theorizes, became overconfident following World War victories and strong economic growth periods. An "Age of Entitlement" developed in which Americans believe the government, big business, the world, owes them...jobs, money, health care, security. A fascinating analysis of the modern American psyche, The Good Life and Its Discontents offers some ideas for change. Read it and decide if the "American Dream" has become the "American Fantasy." ... Read more

Reviews (9)

repetitive and long-winded
I wanted a book to use in conjunction with Barbara Ehrenreich to examine modern American society from different viewpoints. I opted for this book, and regretted it. The book contains few new ideas, a much-rehashed thesis, and repetive and circular arguing. The students in my high school, senior level economics class found these flaws without any prompting from me. If repetitive ideas, long-winded prose and turgid structure are you idea of a good read, then this is the book for you.

A Not Very Subtle Conservative Manifesto!
If you are a conservative, you will enjoy this book. Samuelson truly believes in the system!

If Samuelson spoke with Chomsky:

Samuelson: I'm sick of hearing that there are ghettos; I'm tired of listening to people whine about how Washington is a function of corporate interests; stop crying about how the government has systematically squashed the interests of Labor. Things are not perfect and people should stop demanding a free lunch.

Chomsky: What about health care? Do you realize we are the richest Country in the World, yet we are one of the only progessive "Democratic" states that doesn't provide some basic level of care to all citizens.

Samuelson: If poor people want health care, than they should get jobs dammit! They are not entitled to a free lunch. No free lunch! No free lunch!...

Chomsky: Isn't it true that you support a system that created NAFTA, which basically raises domestic unemployemnt, lowers wages and, yes, destroyes the very jobs you are telling poor people to get?

Samuelson: I said the system works, it's not perfect. No free lunch! No free lunch!

Chomsky: The system is filled with structural injustice: it fixes the betting in favor of corporations and against working Americans . . . and the best you can say is that it's not perfect. By the way, do you own stock in companies that routinely fire hard working Americans in order to raise profit and boost your portfolio.

Samuelson: Um, well, um. You see, well. The system works dammit! No free lunch! No free lunch!

A colorful analysis of American society
This was one of the most intelligent, original, and colorful books that I have read this year. Most of the author's points are right on the mark. The great mystery of our time for political analysts is the large gap between peoples' evident satisfaction with their own life and their overwhelming disappointment with public life. Mr. Samuelson not only is perceptive enough to point out this overlooked paradox but diagnoses it well. This will be certainly a bold challenge for the next generation of public leaders.

Excellent description of current situation
As someone who has to deal with many of the issues that Samuleson addresses, I can vouch for his central thesis that people have come to take progress for granted and have forgotten that there's "no such thing as a free lunch."

Integration of qualitative and pre-quantitative perpectives.
It is quite easy to enjoy this book. By presenting relevant statistics Samuelson provides logical, however preliminary, conclusions as to why we are disillusioned as a nation. His ideas in regards to the promise of prosperity are particularly interesting. Finally the border of the puzzle has begun to form from the implications inherent in Samuelson's contentions. Most importantly, this book provides a framework full of hypotheses and statistical starting points for future social psychological research. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (6)

Insightful!
This impressively researched opus reflects an obsession with One Big Idea that never comes quite clearly into focus, but revolves around the critical historical role played by national credit. Behold an author who not only quotes the Biblical book of Numbers, but also interprets it as a document of financial history, ignoring the contentious issues of authorship and anachronism that make scriptural exegesis such challenging work for specialists. He traces the way government and conflict are funded from Herodotus to the Hanoverian Court to Woodrow Wilson. Like the River Platte, this work is a mile wide and an inch deep; but the river has a definite direction, and this meanders. If you fancy an intriguing browse through major and minor points of political and fiscal history, we have found just the book for you. Some scenes are indelible, like the Germans celebrating WWI bond purchases by driving iron nails into a big wooden statue of a Field Marshall, and may jolt you if you think Allied and Axis powers were funded differently. The U.K. and the U.S. sponsored similar popular financial mobilizations, complete with bombastic slogans (no statues, though).

England's Democracy versus France's Ancien Regime
MacDonald argues that democracy arose to allow governments to borrow for war from their people. There is superb chapter on France versus England in eighteenth century. England had half the GNP of France, but it was always able to outspend France in their wars. England relied on 3% perpetual debt, readily marketable by holders, with published information about budget and single market indicator of England's credit rating. Plus England was run by "heroic citizen-creditors" who were willing to entrust their capital to Bank of England (for loan for war) because they ran the government and were sure they would get taxes to make the debt sound.
France had kings who defaulted on a whim, a bramble bush
of borrowing instruments, a terribly inefficient tax system, with lots of exemptions for their aristocrats, no public information and a lousy resale market. French citizen did not lend to France. England paid 3% on its debt and France paid 11% on its debt as the Revolution neared. England carried debt of double its GNP and France went bankrupt which killed the ancien regime with debt of 2/3d of GNP. Terrific story.
MacDonald is concise and accurate summarizer of the literature on issues (American Revolutionary War debt) that I know about.

Insightful!
This impressively researched opus reflects an obsession with One Big Idea that never comes quite clearly into focus, but revolves around the critical historical role played by national credit. Behold an author who not only quotes the Biblical book of Numbers, but also interprets it as a document of financial history, ignoring the contentious issues of authorship and anachronism that make scriptural exegesis such challenging work for specialists. He traces the way government and conflict are funded from Herodotus to the Hanoverian Court to Woodrow Wilson. Like the River Platte, this work is a mile wide and an inch deep; but the river has a definite direction, and this meanders. If you fancy an intriguing browse through major and minor points of political and fiscal history, we have found just the book for you. Some scenes are indelible, like the Germans celebrating WWI bond purchases by driving iron nails into a big wooden statue of a Field Marshall, and may jolt you if you think Allied and Axis powers were funded differently. The U.K. and the U.S. sponsored similar popular financial mobilizations, complete with bombastic slogans (no statues, though).

An excellent history of public debt and its role in developi
This book is not what you think. The title suggests the repeat of the theme exposed by Paul Kennedy in the 80s in his book "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers." But, the two books advance almost symmetrically opposed theories. Paul Kennedy suggested that great powers eventually decline because they can't withstand the fiscal burden of maintaining a nonproductive military effort to govern their empire (the Imperial Overstretch concept). Macdonald instead advances that a public bond market is a nation?s best tool in raising funds for emergencies such as warfare. In Kennedy's book debt is bad. In Macdonald it is good.

Macdonald's argument starts with the fiscal stress associated with having to raise huge amount of funds in preparation for warfare. In such situation, raising taxes is impractical. Often tax rates would have had to double or treble to raise adequate funds to finance wars throughout history. A government can?t do that without causing a revolution. Often what states and government did before the advent of well developed public bond markets was to mine their grounds (or grounds of conquered territories) for mineral riches (gold and silver). The states would then hoard these gold reserves as funds available for a rainy day (war). But, as Macdonald points out this treasure hoarding was most inefficient from an economic standpoint.

Public debt markets became a much preferred alternative to treasure hoarding for financing wars. This was true for several reasons. Treasure hoarding represented a huge amount of wasted capital not reinvested in the economy where it could have generated rapidly rising living standards for society at large. Bond financing (public debt) was so much more flexible a tool for war financing than an ongoing tasking treasure hoarding mechanism.

Comparing two countries, one being a bond borrower, the other a treasure hoarder, one could readily observe that the bond borrower economy would grow much faster, and that it would have an easier time to finance wars when and as needed. Typically, you run out of gold reserve faster than you run out of a state's borrowing capacity.

But, for a public debt market to thrive you need democratic institutions. In democracies, the motivation of the government and its citizen are aligned. This facilitates a trust between the creditors (citizens) and the borrower (the government). As a result, democratic governments can borrow more and at a lower interest costs then other governments. In other words, the creditors of a democratic government assess a lower credit and counterparty risk to a democratic government, and therefore demand a lower risk premium (lower interest rates). This is Macdonald's main argument. Therefore, he concludes that the pressure to create public credit markets to finance wars was an impetus to create public debt markets and in turn to develop democratic institutions.

Macdonald's theory is so current. Today, it is self evident that the countries who have the most transparent disclosure, integer accounting system, accountable governance associated with democracies can borrow at a substantially lower cost than others.

Well argued even if you don't agree with him
For the record, I won't pretend to be an expert on public debt and all its related trivia so I'll judge this book as a layman only.

A Free Nation Debt in Debt is an impressive bit of research and analysis. Macdonald does a remarkable job tracing the role of public debt stretching back thousands of years in an attempt to advance the notion that democracies are inextricably tied to government funding, and indeed exist because of it. Throughout history, Macdonald argues, public debt has applied pressure on government to become more transparent to both creditors and the citizens it represents.

Of course, the problem with public debt is that it necessitates taxation -- and it may irk readers to hear Macdonald judge who is under- and over-taxed -- an intimately related issue. In fact, taxation plays such a role that you could argue it's a minor character in Macdonald's story.

Does A Free Nation Deep in Debt succeed? That will depend on your perspective. Small government types probably won't care for Macdonald's primary thesis while others may nod in agreement. Either way, it is a fine example of historical research. Warning: Not a casual read. You don't need a degree in economics to pick this up but don't expect to breeze through through it either. ... Read more

Book Description

A Primer on Nonmarket Valuation is unique in its clear descriptions of the most commonly used nonmarket valuation techniques and their implementation. Individuals working for government agencies, attorneys involved with natural resource damage assessments, graduate students, and others will appreciate the non-technical and practical tone of this book.
The first section of the book provides the context and theoretical foundation of nonmarket valuation, along with practical data issues.
The middle two sections of the Primer describe the major stated and revealed nonmarket valuation techniques. For each technique, the steps involved in implementation are laid out and described. Both practitioners of nonmarket valuation and those who are new to the field will come away from these methods chapters with a thorough understanding of how to design, implement, and analyze a nonmarket valuation study.
The concluding section takes stock of the usefulness of nonmarket valuation, highlighting chapters on benefit transfer, the role of nonmarket valuation in real decisions about natural resources, and where nonmarket valuation is headed in the future.
As a companion to A Primer on Nonmarket Valuation, a website has been developed, http://www.fs.fed.us/nonmarketprimerdata/. This website includes downloadable datasets for each of the techniques described in the Primer, as well as links to published journal articles and reports based on the data. The website also provides an opportunity for students to estimate models using the data. ... Read more

Book Description

Since the late 1990s, an essential shift has taken place in the pattern of private sector financial flows to developing countries. Debt flows have fallen sharply, while equity flows--primarily in the form of foreign direct investment--have remained comparatively robust. The shift from debt to equity ought to diminish the volatility of developing countries' external finance and improve their access to technology, markets, and management expertise. However, much more needs to be done to put development finance on a stable basis.

Global Development Finance 2003 is unique in its depth of coverage of the issues related to international development finance. By putting all development-related flows in a consistent framework, the publication will allow government officials, economists, investors, financial consultants, academics, bankers, and the entire development community to better understand, manage, and promote the key challenges of financing development.

This CD-ROM edition contains both volumes (in PDF) plus more than 200 historical time series from 1970 to 2001, and country group estimates for 2002. Data is easily manipulated, graphed, and exported in standard formats including CDF and Excel.

Global Development Finance 2003, I: Analysis and Statistical Appendix is the World Bank’s annual review of recent trends in and prospects for financial flows to developing countries. It also contains the World Bank's projections of the global outlook in view of the current global geopolitical uncertainties.

Global Development Finance 2003, II: Summary and Country Tables includes a comprehensive set of tables with statistical data for 138 countries that report debt under the World Bank Debtor Reporting System, as well as summary data for regions and income groups. It contains data on total external debt stocks and flows, aggregates, and key debt ratios, and provides a detailed, country-by-country picture of debt.

This title is also available in book form (2-volumes). See ISBNs 0-8213-5428-0 for volume 1 and 0-8213-5429-9 for the complete two-volume set. (Volume 2 cannot be purchased individually.) In CD-ROM format this title is also available in multiple-user format (see ISBN 0-8213-5431-0). ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Demographics is destiny" writes Pete Peterson. The destiny in question is the looming fiscal crisis that he believes faces the United States early next century when the baby-boom generation retires, leaving only the much smaller baby-bust generation at work to keep the country's Social Security coffers full. Peterson, who is chairman of the Blackstone Group, a private investment bank, offers up some truly frightening numbers to support his dire prediction. He cites, among other statistics, the government's official projection that in 2040 the average worker will hand over 35 to 55 percent of each paycheck for Social Security and Medicare, compared with 17 percent in 1995. His solutions include raising the retirement age, hiking taxes, and limiting costly terminal care. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Peterson is a prophet
I have read this book and it scares me to death. People my age must realize that doing nothing is tantamount to giving our futures away. We must come to terms with the fact that there are 76 million Baby Boomers approaching retirement age, and there is no national plan to accomodate their pension and health needs. And to complicate matters, the problem is already occurring elsewhere around the world. Just read Peter Peterson's newest book, Gray Dawn.

A few thoughts
This book addresses the problem of growing government entitlement programs for Americans in light of limited resources for providing them. Yes, everyone should be aware of the funding problems. Mr. Peterson should be thanked for bringing out a book on the subject. The color graphs are quite attractive. The writing is quick and easy to read, but even though he says he is not an alarmist, that's the impression he gives. There are many assumptions which readers usually swallow whole and that's what is wrong with the presentation. The book states that Americans do not "save" enough and that the Japanese save more. It infers that the Japanese are better off. In comparison to the amount Americans have in terms of goods and services, the Japanese have much less to consume. First, Americans as a whole save as much as any people in other industrialized countries. Our saving is not just at the bank, but involves mortgage payments, insurance premiums and employer pensions. Very few people in Japan own or are buying their homes. If we counted ALL savings of Amnericans, it would equal savings of people in other countries. If in fact, greater "saving" is responsible for a growing economy and a higher standard of living, why has Japan with its high saving rate been in a recession for the past seven years? (During the same time period the U.S. economy has been growing more prosperous.) The graph on page 24 shows how many American workers are needed to support each U.S. social security beneficiary for selected years between 1955 and 2040. In 1955 it took 8.6 workers, in 1995 it was 3.3 workers per retiree and by the year 2040 there will be only two workers per beneficiary. (In 1995 workers AND retirees all had more of material goods than in 1955.) This is the same kind of projection that was used years ago when at the turn of the century it took 50 percent of the working population to provide enough food for everyone else in the country. Everyone thought it was an ominous sign that so many young people were leaving the farms and that there was sure to be shortages of food unless the trend was stopped. Well, by the 1930's we had food surpluses which continued right through the 1980's even though only two percent of the working population is in farming. Even now, if we did not sell our surplus farm products overseas, we would have surpluses. In the U.S. today it takes one average farmer to produce enough food to feed 90 people. Only a few decades ago it would have seemed impossible. Its not obvious what method was used to get the numbers on the federal government's "red ink" chart on page 18, but just recently a review of the federal government's report for 1995 indicated that the accumulated federal debt of approximately $20,000 (liability) per U.S. population is compared to $205,000 of public assets per U.S. population. There are very few organizations of any kind that have such a favorable balance. Yes, there should be more reliance on private funds for medical care for the elderly and also some level of means test. But also keep in mind that spending on medical care causes people to live longer and people living longer results in more spending on health care. If old people had to pay for life-lengthening medications, they might not spend as much and health care companies would not have the profits to fund more advanced products to keep more people living longer. Think of the implications--investments, employment, life spans, etc Out of the complications we see that with or without government involvement, the industries that grow and prosper are the ones that get funded, either privately or by government. Each area of decision-making is made up of lots of individual choices which together move mountains. We agree that no one should have the idea that people should rely on social security benefits to fund their retirements. As far as the past is concerned, people with ONLY social security have NOT lived real high. Mr. Peterson is right when he says that young people do NOT expect to live on social security benefits when they retire. And, so, THAT finding may be the solution yet. ... Read more

Book Description

How policymakers should guide, manage, and oversee public bureaucracies is a question that lies at the heart of contemporary debates about government and public administration. In their search for better systems of public management, reformers have looked in particular at the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. These countries are exemplars of the New Public Management, a term used to describe distinctive new themes, styles, and patterns of public service management. Calling for public management to become a vibrant field of public policy, this valuable book consolidates recent work on the New Public Management and provides a basis for improving research and policy debate on managing public bureaucracies.

A copublication with the Russell Sage Foundation ... Read more

Book Description

Since 1981, over 100 governments around the world have raised over $1 trillion through the sale of SOEs to private investors.Privatization programs have transformed the role of the state in virtually all-major economies, and have massively increased the capitalization and liquidity of all non-U.S. stock markets. The focus of this book lies on where privatization stands today and what are the next frontiers, the why and how behind countries who privatize certain industries, whether privatization works as an economic tool and important insights relevant to financial institutions such as how to value privatized industries, how share offerings differ from private offerings, and how countries go about harnessing private capital.The book will also represent a key and unique source for information related to the details of asset sales privatization, a summary of statistics of privatized companies from 54 international stock exchanges, regulatory changes and sources for privatization information for investors, government officials, bankers and financial specialists.The volume will serve as an invaluable reference for professionals and as a core or supplementary text in privatization courses. ... Read more

Download Description

The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative, a major innovation in development finance, was designed to relieve the high external debt of some of the world's poorest nations. The Initiative was put in place by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1996 and enhanced in 1999. The HIPC Debt Initiative addresses a key obstacle to economic growth and poverty reduction, but it also contains multiple and overly-ambitious objectives. Debt Relief for the Poorest is an independent evaluation which assesses the progress and prospects of the HIPC Debt Initiative achieving its objectives. This review makes recommendations which address the strategic issues confronting the Initiative. ... Read more

Book Description

This descriptive, nonpartisan, and ideologically neutral approach to the U.S. federal budget provides a clear and detailed explanation of the intricacies of the budget, its history, and the institutional details that create it. Red Ink offers a complete guide to the federal government's budget, its deficit, and its debt. Clear and practical discussions of taxes, entitlements, welfare, Social Security, Medicare, agricultural subsidies, trust funds, budget enforcement, and the politics of the deficit and deficit-reduction are all included.
This is the first book to offer a complete survey from the history of the deficit to modern budget enforcement. It discusses topical issues, such as welfare and Medicare reform, and the controversies of the future, including the projected depletion of the Social Security trust funds. The actual line-item budget, including tax sources, is listed to demonstrate where federal money is spent and where it comes from. The book traces how spending and tax bills originate and follows them as they make their waythrough a maze of Congressional procedures, regulations, and protocols. In addition to students of public finance and macroeconomics, Red Ink is useful to anyone with an interest in the machinations of the federal budget.

Key Features
* Includes over 120 tables and illustrations
* Features an extensive glossary of budget terms
* Contains a practical nuts and bolts approach to the U.S. federal budget
* Provides an annotated reading list for further research
* Uses a WWW link for budget updates and new data ... Read more

Book Description

It is hard to think of anyone who has contributed so much and so widely to research in international public finance in the last 40 years as has Richard Bird. This volume of essays emerged from a conference dedicated to him. It also expands on our understanding of international public finance.

Bird’s academic and applied work has always benefited from a far-reaching involvement with, and knowledge of, relevant policy issues in many countries around the world. The range of public finance issues to which he has contributed over the years covers practically the whole gamut of the public finance discipline: tax policy, tax administration, the interdependency between the two, intergovernmental fiscal relations, public expenditure policy, and fiscal management processes.

The topics covered in this book reflect the wide contributions of Richard Bird to the subject of international public finance, including original reviews of intergovernmental fiscal relations, fiscal policy, and tax evasion and tax administration, all with a special focus on transition and developing countries. The contributors, top scholars in their own right, deepen our own understanding of relevant problems and issues in international public finance, much like Richard Bird has been doing for many years. The book will be of interest to economists, policymakers and students. ... Read more