Topics in Public Economics: Theoretical and Applied Analysis

by David Pines, Efraim Sadka, Itzhak Zilcha

Overview

This volume presents recent developments in urban geography, club theory and local public finance, and international trade that contribute to the explanation of the modern opposing trends of integration and segregation. Part I explores the role of transportation costs, crowding, and preferences for a large variety of goods in shaping the main features of urban geography. Part II contains four contributions on fundamental issues associated with the provision of collective goods (club goods and local public goods) using a game-theoretic approach. Part III investigates features of the production, pricing, and consumption of congested public goods. Part IV covers key tax issues arising in a world where economic borders are gradually being removed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521561365
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/28/1997
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	6.34(w) x 9.37(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword Haim Ben-Shahar; Introduction Efraim Sadka, David Pines and Itzhak Zilcha; Part I. New Perspectives on Urban Development: 1. A 'slime mold' model of city formation Paul A. Krugman; 2. The size of regions: transport and housing as factors in agglomeration Elhanan Helpman; Part II. The Economics of Clubs: 3. First and second welfare theorems for economies with collective goods Vicky Barham and Myrna H. Wooders; 4. Anonymous pricing in Tiebout economies and economics with clubs John Conley and Myrna H. Wooders; 5. Decentralization in club economies: how multiple private goods matter Robert P. Gilles and Suzanne A. Scotchmer; 6. Incentives and disagglomerative forces: some modelling problems Roger Guesnerie; Part III. The Provision of Public Goods: 7. Self-financing of congestible facilities in a growing economy Richard Arnott and Marvin Kraus; 8. The monopolistic provision of congested public goods William H. Oakland; 9. Imperfect solutions to the musical-suburbs problem John D. Wilson; 10. Nationalism and secession Daniel Berkowitz; Part IV. Taxation and Distribution: 11. Why is there corporate taxation in a small open economy? The role of transfer pricing and income shifting Roger H. Gordon and Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason; 12. Patterns of tax arbitrage and decentralized tax autonomy Bernd Genser; 13. Destination- and origin-based taxation under international capital mobility A. Lans Bovenberg; 14. Factor mobility, risk, and redistribution in the welfare state David E. Wildasin.

Editorial Reviews

"This fine collection of essays, most of them dealing with issues of local public goods and clubs, should be the main selection of the Public-Economics-Book-of-the-Month Club." Avinash K. Dixit, Princeton University

"This book is a fitting tribute to the memory of Eitan Berglas, who was largely responsible for initiating the study of the theory of clubs as a market phenomenon, and for seeing its potential as an approach to understanding issues in fiscal federalism, urban public finance, and transportation economics. The contributors to this volume include some of the most renowned scholars working in this tradition. They have put together a diverse and highly original set of papers spanning the many areas where issues of decentralization and integreation must be appropriately balanced, a task that draws heavily on Berglas's legacy." Robin Boadway, Queens University

From the Publisher