The Economic Approach To Public Policy

Can traditional economic theory help to solve today's vexing social problems? This unique collection of thirty-six papers strongly suggests that it can. The economic approach is applied imaginatively by the authors to a wide range of contemporary issues, such as crime, higher education, the environment, revenue sharing, equity, justice, and the distribution of income. The articles also deal with governmental behavior and the role of the economist as governmental adviser. Shaped during the preparation and teaching of college classes, the book is well suited for courses in principles of economics, microeconomics, price theory, and public policy development and analysis. It should also prove a useful reference work for policy makers.

How stringent should environmental and occupational safety regulations be? How far should Medicaid support go? Should funding for research on Alzheimer's disease be increased? Should more money be spent on programs to discourage smoking? What are appropriate ways to determine damages in wrongful injury or death suits? Toward answering such questions, this volume examines various models of health valuation, including the cost-of-illness, preventive-expenditures, and quality-adjusted-life-year approaches. The authors favor a willingness-to-pay approach grounded in individual preferences.

For policymakers, economics is a useful tool in the development and evaluation of public policy. And like many sciences, economics is evolving to become more interdisciplinary in its approach. Today, economic theory is often used in conjunction with insights gleaned from psychology and sociology to create a more inclusive, real-world approach to implementing public policy. In this book, five award-winning economists tackle a diverse range of topics and show how applied economics has evolved to give policymakers a more nuanced approach to policy development. The award-winning economists included in this volume are Erica Field, Nancy Folbre, Avner Grief, David M. Kreps, and Michael J. Piore, and the topics they discuss include microfinance, human capital, societal institutions, worker motivation, and workplace regulation.

This text gives students a framework for analyzing public policy choices. The unique "political economy" approach focuses on the institutions and market processes that contribute to the solving of public problems.

“Dowding and Taylor offer student and scholar alike a clear and compelling perspective on the foundations of political economy. Their narrative coherently frames the scholarship of the last half century, and persuasively applies it to the recurring problems facing groups, markets, and whole societies.”—Kenneth A. Shepsle, Harvard University, USA This book introduces and applies the economic way of thinking to public policy and public administration. It provides a non-technical introduction and assumes no prior economic or mathematical training but looks closely at the methodological and normative assumptions underlying economic analysis. It provides a deep understanding of the method than a simple technical presentation would allow. After introducing the basic assumptions of the economic method, the book considers the analysis of market failure, the role of government in a market economy, behavioural economics, bargaining in government, bureaucracy, interest groups, and levels of government. By providing a balanced introduction to and overview of economic approaches to government, the book will be useful to undergraduate and postgraduate students in public administration and public policy, as well as academics and practitioners in these fields interested in the application of the economic way of thinking.

'In this new, exciting exposition, Brian Dollery and Joe Wallis (here joined by Linda McLoughlin) continue their unique explorations advancing the frontiers of public administration and political economy with a fresh, challenging, and thought-provoking analysis of the effects and implications of more than two decades of public sector reform.' - Zane Spindler, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Textbook, microeconomics, social policy, resource allocation - economic models, social norms, decision making, supply and demand, competition, efficiency, political behaviour, price policy, rationing, public expenditure, income redistribution, social services, cost benefit analysis, social planning. Graphs, references, statistical tables.

The ideal introductory textbook to the politics of the policymaking process This textbook uses modern political economy to introduce students of political science, government, economics, and public policy to the politics of the policymaking process. The book's distinct political economy approach has two virtues. By developing general principles for thinking about policymaking, it can be applied across a range of issue areas. It also unifies the policy curriculum, offering coherence to standard methods for teaching economics and statistics, and drawing connections between fields. The book begins by exploring the normative foundations of policymaking—political theory, social choice theory, and the Paretian and utilitarian underpinnings of policy analysis. It then introduces game theoretic models of social dilemmas—externalities, coordination problems, and commitment problems—that create opportunities for policy to improve social welfare. Finally, it shows how the political process creates technological and incentive constraints on government that shape policy outcomes. Throughout, concepts and models are illustrated and reinforced with discussions of empirical evidence and case studies. This textbook is essential for all students of public policy and for anyone interested in the most current methods influencing policymaking today. Comprehensive approach to politics and policy suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students Models unify policy curriculum through methodological coherence Exercises at the end of every chapter Self-contained appendices cover necessary game theory Extensive discussion of cases and applications