Book Description

"Two towering pillars of 20th century public economics examine the deep foundations of their own thought and their common subject. Who could resist the chance to eavesdrop on their reflections? Certainly not anyone who cares about the role of government in modern society." -- Robert M. Solow, Institute Professor Emeritus, MIT

In this volume, based on a week-long symposium at the University of Munich's Center for Economic Studies, two leading scholars of governmental economics debate their divergent perspectives on the role of government and its fiscal functions.

James M. Buchanan, who was influential in developing the research program in public choice, concentrates on the imperfections of the political process and stresses the need for rules to restrain governmental interference. Richard A. Musgrave, a founder of modern public finance, points to market failures and inequities that call for corrective public policies. They apply their differing economic and political philosophies to a variety of key issues. Each presentation is followed by a response and general discussion. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Worth reading, but avoids the underlying disagreements
I had high hopes for this book; the transcript of a symposium featuring a back-and-forth dialogue of sorts by two leading thinkers in the area of public choice and finance would seem ideal, and as an introduction to the field, it was quite good. Where it fell short is in offering an analysis of the ideas on which the differences between the participants' views lay. Rather, one tended to offer his outlook on, say, the proper redistributive function of a government, or whether brakes on power are best set at the constitutional level, and the other would offer his views. So there was very little in the way of attacking the weak points of each other's arguments directly. Put simply, Buchanan does not trust people in positions of power, while Musgrave does. Buchanan's work usually involves modeling how things work, while Musgrave looks at how he thinks things should be. But there is little exploration of the basis for, for instance, Musgrave's frequent assertions that, well, things tend to be this way and we aren't happy with that so you see we need government intervention. He just goes on, and then when it is Buchanan's turn, he goes on. And the book is rather philosophical in nature; while there is a lot of economics jargon throughout, the overall level is general. It all just seemed a bit too civil. A good enough book, but perhaps a subscription to Critical Review would be a better place to look for more penetrating discussions of the topics at hand. ... Read more

Book Description

In this book a distinguished group of contributors discuss the changing political economy of pension reform. They focus on those countries which have launched a significant reframing of their pension system. Each chapter provides a detailed review of recent pension reforms and offers institutional evidence of the extent to which these reforms suggest a redirection of the welfare state towards a more public-private mix of policies. The countries were selected to represent the variety of new directions which mature industrial countries as well as countries in transition have taken.

The book brings to light a number of surprising developments. These include: the observation that pension systems do not conform to pure models of welfare system regimes; that a number of diverse developments have contributed to the extension of private pensions; that an emerging pattern of substituting private for public pensions can be detected but public provision still dominates in transition economies; and that traditional employer-provided private pension schemes are undergoing significant change. One conclusion is that the design of the pension scheme may be more important than the mix of public-private in preventing the growth of inequality among the aged. ... Read more

Book Description

Under European Monetary Union, member states lose the ability to steer their economies by manipulating monetary policy. Domestic Budgets in a United Europe, which explains the content, evolution, and effectiveness of fiscal institutions, will be the definitive account of European budget reform in the late twentieth century.

Mark Hallerberg examines the making of budgets in EU countries from 1973 to 2000 and explores why those countries introduced fiscal rules when they did. In 1993, when the fiscal-policy criteria for monetary union were first announced, only Luxembourg and the Republic of Ireland would have qualified. In 1997, only Greece failed. Various explanations have been advanced for this rapid turnaround, including luck (a favorable economic climate reduced pressures on local budgets), accounting tricks, and the increasing pressures caused by international capital mobility.

Underlying these various explanations is a basic skepticism about whether countries in the European Union actively worked to reform their national budgeting procedures. In rich case studies, Hallerberg shows that the member-states did indeed reform their budget institutions. Many of them, he finds, had started that process long before the formal signing of the Maastricht Treaty of 1991, making domestic changes that allowed them to qualify individually under EMU criteria. ... Read more

Book Description

The sixteen essays in this book were written to celebrate the ninetieth birthday of Richard Musgrave and to commemorate the tenth anniversary of CES, the Center for Economic Studies at the University of Munich. Musgrave is considered to be a founding father of modern public economics. He belongs to the intellectual tradition that views government as an instrument that can be used to correct market failure and to establish the society that people want. Although his work fits within the individualistic framework of modern economics, he also draws on principles of moral philosophy.

The essays take stock of and extend the theory and practice of public finance and public policy. They address the evolving role of government and the welfare state, the interaction between taxation and markets, the future of pension and health care systems, and international tax issues and fiscal federalism. ... Read more

Book Description

Taking a comparative approach to the subject of public budgeting, this work examines budgetary politics at the federal, state and local government levels. It introduces the budgetary decision making process, taxation, spending, budget execution and financial management as well as the budget process at each level of government. The revised third edition includes a new chapter on the interrelationship of economics and politics. ... Read more

Book Description

Understand and plan your college funding options.

Finding money for college doesn't have to be harder than taking the SATs. In Financial Aid for College, we've collected the information, sifted out the nonessentials, and organized the rest into short, clear explanations that make sense of the process. This book shows you the formulas followed by people in the know, and breaks them down into manageable parts. Discover the insights and tools to use the financial aid system to your best advantage, with extra pointers to help you avoid pitfalls and keep track of the deadlines. Taking a clear, concise approach to money management, the Dorling Kindersley Essential Finance Series provides a practical and impartial resource to guide you through important financial decisions. Useful questionnaires pinpoint one's financial status while easy-to-use charts and graphs help track cash flow. Cut through the complexities of financial lingo and gain the confidence needed to build real financial security. Learn to live debt free, invest in the stock market, pay for a child's education, or plan for retirement. Filled with practical advice on all aspects of money management, this series offers an excellent foundation for building a personal finance library. ... Read more

Book Description

America's debt-$5.2 trillion in 1996-is serious business. Although contemporary press coverage hovers over the story of annual budgets and the associated deficits (and rare surpluses), not much attention is given to the overall national debt and even less to the interest spent serving it. "It's like worrying about the five dollars you borrowed last week and ignoring the mortgage you can't afford," says the author. And federal politicians are generally as impotent to control the debt as they are uninformed about its nature.After tracing the fluctuations in the finances of the country from its beginning until 1940, the administrations of the next 11 presidents-Roosevelt through Clinton-and the annual budget deficits and the interest expenses that fed the national debt are examined in detail. The startup debt of each administration is shown in detail, then restated in 1983 and 1995 dollars. The change in debt through the end of the administration is then analyzed as to what areas of government incurred overspending and how much was overspent. Also discussed are major events or situations, foreign and domestic, that affected fiscal policies and fueled the urge to overspend. ... Read more

Book Description

Latin America’s macroeconomic crises of the 1980s and ‘90s forced a severe fiscal adjustment across the region.More often than not, fiscal stability was achieved at the cost of a drastic compression of public infrastructure spending, accompanied by the hope that the private sector would take the leading role in infrastructure provision.

This book documents the major trends in infrastructure provision in Latin America over the past two decades n order to assess the consequences of this changed public-private partnership from the perspective of economic growth, public finances, and the quantity and quality of infrastructure services. It will be of particular interest to those in the fields of infrastructure, fiscal policy, and economic growth, and anyone concerned with Latin America’s development. ... Read more

Book Description

A brand-new edition of the bestselling guide to more than 1,000 sources of financial assistance for unemployed and underemployed Americans

Could you use $15,000, $25,000, or more in free money? Let financial guru Laurie Blum show you how to connect with little-known resources tailored to meet the practical needs of people like you. And best of all, it's money you'll never have to pay back!

If you're one of nearly ten million out-of-work Americans, or the approximately six million whose pensions or part-time incomes don't begin to cover even their basic expenses, this new edition of Laurie Blum's definitive sourcebook is for you. It lists hundreds of private and public programs and foundations set up to assist you with money for rent, groceries, utilities, mortgage payments, medical expenses, even car payments and tuition. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Free Money
Title is very mis-leading..grants only apply if you live in certain states. If you need money why would you spend money for a book that does apply to you...waste of money..

A good buy if............
This book is a good buy if you live in California, Washington, New York or Floridia or if you are Jewish, elderly or disable or any combination of any of the above listed. I live in Illinois and there was NOT a lot of information for people living here(well not a lot of info. that one who lives here doesn't already know about). If you have the chance to get this book from the library before you buy it, I would suggest that you do so, then you decide.

Not helpful at all
I found that if you live in Indiana and you are not old, your health is not failing or you are not of a certain faith...FORGET IT there is nothing available to you. Not very helpful for me. Would not recommend wasting the time to buy this book. In 5 min I was done with it. Hardly worth the anticipation waiting for it.

Good for some
There is some good information in this book. Alot of the sources come from the north, although if you take note, you will find some info useful. It is out of date for some references. ... Read more

Book Description

How Social Security Picks Your Pocket exposes how Social Security is implemented - who wins, who loses, and how the game is played; and offers suggestions for improvements to the system.

Issue-by-issue, the book gives a guided tour of a system of staggering waste and blatant inequities.You’ll learn how average retirees are robbed of benefits – benefits that are redirected to wealthier, non-paying beneficiaries.You’ll learn about the millions of people who pay lip-service to Social Security – but pay nothing else.They don’t participate in the system described as their "worst nightmare."

The tour includes a visit with the teachers who become janitors for just one day, to qualify for $100,000 in Social Security benefits – each.The book also reviews the amazing 115% tax, inflicted on working seniors.Yes, these people can effectively pay more in tax than they earn.

The tour also includes the growing disability programs.Are you a hypochondriac?Good!You just may qualify for disability benefits. (Check out section 12.07 of the Social Security "Blue Book.")Did you know that one third of all workers getting disability benefits claim to have a mental impairment?Are you up on the latest designer diseases?And, did you realize that only one in every five hundred disabled workers recovers and returns to work – despite our miracle cures, technology, and "reasonable accommodations"?

You’ll need your "hard hat" when visiting Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a welfare program run by Social Security.It’s been classified by the GAO as "high risk" due to its habit of paying benefits first, and asking questions later (or never).SSI has its very own disability program, and should be in the Guinness book for once paying benefits to 181 members of one family – simultaneously.In this program, more than sixty percent of disabled beneficiaries are paid for claimed mental impairments.

Be advised that the tour includes some unsavory neighborhoods, rife with crime and corruption.There is a discussion of the different schemes and scams used to rip-off the system, and the new and threatening trends on the horizon.The Social Security Administration claims that it can’t estimate the amount of fraud in its programs.This book challenges that claim.

Of course, what Social Security tour would be complete without a discussion of insolvency, the trust fund, and Personal Retirement Accounts (PRAs)?Is the program really broke?Would PRAs help, or hurt?You’ll get the lowdown on these matters, plus insights into a great alternative plan that has been serving retirees longer than Social Security, right here in America.Comparing the benefits of this alternative plan to those of Social Security is an enlightening, if sobering, experience.

The final stop on the tour is the author's dream plan for Social Security.It’s a little different than any other proposal.Is it "Shangri-La" or Sham-ri-La?That’s for you to decide. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Generally, I liked this book
I was able to follow most of this book without too much trouble. The author has done a good job of quantifying the waste in SS. It's worth the read.

Read this book!
The author did a good job of showing why we need to update Social Security. Benefits are transferred illogically. Why give extra benefits to rich people at the expense of middle class workers? Also, the stuff about the Texas teacher scandal is infuriating. This rip off should be stopped! ... Read more

Book Description

This major new work looks at what debt meant to Thomas Jefferson and how that affected his political career and the early history of the American Republic. Sloan argues that Jefferson was always obsessed by debt:in the public sphere because he felt that it robbed people of their independence, and in the private because he was dogged by debt throughout his life.The book depicts Jefferson as a typical representative of the Virginia gentry, subject to debt during this period, but also as a tireless warrior against public debt, first as governor of Virginia and later as President of the United States.Sloan also discusses the role of debt in the American Revolution and Jefferson's vision of political power as the means of redressing economic power that he felt was in the hands of creditors. ... Read more

Book Description

By looking at a wide range of industrialized economies, including England, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Argentina, the United States, and "late developers" such as Russia, this book aims to show how important the state was in the development of financial systems. It examines the various factors that contributed to the emergence of diverse financial systems, and through comparative historical analysis draws together general themes, such as the inter-country differences in the mix of public and private finance, to produce a book that makes an unique contribution to financial and economic history. ... Read more

Book Description

This book explains the significant variation that has emerged over time and across cases in international debt rescheduling during the past one hundred and seventy years.Based on a novel situational theory of bargaining, Professor Aggarwal's study provides a method to deduce actors' payoffs in different bargaining situations to develop "debt games," which are then used to predict negotiating outcomes.This integrated political-economic approach to analyze bargaining episodes goes beyond simple economic models or purely descriptive studies.In doing so, it contributes to international political and economic theory, game theory, and historical research on debt negotiations. ... Read more