Chapter summaries

Chapter summaries are available to help reinforce your understanding of the key issues (as well as providing a handy reference point for revision!). Click on the links below to access summaries for each chapter.

Part I: Introduction

1. The Foundations of Public Sector Theory
2. Market Failures
3. The Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economics

Part II: Public Expenditure Theory and Policy

4. The Social Welfare Function and the Quest for Distributive Justice
5. Applying the Social Welfare Function
6. Externalities: Theoretical Issues
7. Externalities: Policy Considerations
8. Nonexclusive Goods
9. Decreasing Cost Services: the Natural Monopolies
10. U.S. Transfer Payments: the Public Choice Perspective
11. Practical Issues in Designing Transfers to the Poor
12. Social Insurance: Social Security

Part III: Tax Theory and Policy

13. The Pursuit of Equity in Taxation
14. Applying Ability-to-Pay Principles: Federal Personal Income Tax
15. Taxes and Inefficiency: the Excess Burden of Taxation
16. The Trade-off Between Equity and Efficiency in Taxation
17. Taxes, Transfers, and Private Information
18. Tax Incidence: Theoretical Issues
19. Tax Incidence: Applications

Part IV: Cost–Benefit Analysis

20. Cost–Benefit Analysis

Part V: Fiscal Federalism

21. Fiscal Federalism: the Assignment of Functions among Governments
22. Efficiency and Equity Issues with Mobile Resources
23. Grants-in-Aid