Praise for the first edition
"Professor Jha's Modern Public Economics is one of those rare feats—an accessible, wide-ranging and marvelously organized survey of the field for intermediate students and a precise down-to-earth manual for practitioners."
Edmund S. Phelps, Columbia University (2006 Nobel Prize for economics)
"Jha's book fills an important lacuna from the point of view of students.... The challenging task before a contemporary text is to convey the movement from the old to the new public economics in a manner that will enthuse and motivate the students. This is a subtle task and Jha has accomplished this admirably... Modern Public Economics is an excellent and exciting book and belongs on the bookshelf of every serious student of the effect of state intervention in the market place."
Economic and Political Weekly
Praise for the second edition
"This is a magisterial study-the author’s complete mastery of theoretical intricacies and subtleties is matched by a deep and profound understanding of policy choices that confront governments in developing countries. In a remarkable blend of theory and practice, it surpasses the best in Public Finance. "
Raghav Gaiha, Professor of Public Policy, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.
"This is a clear, concise and well-written book on public economics – one of the best public economics textbooks I have read. The discussion of theoretical concepts in public economics is lucid and uncluttered; in his usual style, Professor Jha uses plenty of diagrams and intuition to complement the mathematical derivations. The inclusion of topics that are particularly germane to developing countries, such as taxation in an economy with a large informal sector and fiscal federalism, will make this a very appealing textbook in public economics for readers from developing countries. A very large section of the book is devoted to applied problems in public economics, including timely topics such as global public goods and the use of randomized evaluations in benefit-cost analysis. All in all, this is a must-read book for students and researchers interested in applied public economics and public policy, especially as it relates to developing countries."
Anil B. Deolalikar, Professor of Economics, University of California Riverside
"Professor Jha has again provided both students and researchers a comprehensive and intelligible introduction to Public Economics. His clear, crisp exposition of complex ideas will be welcomed by students everywhere".
Sinclair Davidson, RMIT University.
