Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Public Policy-Limits and Possibilities
How Economics Interacts with Politics
Structure of Analysis
Conceptual Apparatus: Economic Constraints
What Makes Problems Soluble?
1. Macroeconomics: Can Government Control the Economy?
Managing the Economy: Partisan Incentives and Political Cycles
Monetary Policy and Rational Expectations
Fiscal Policy-Is It Just Crowding Out?
Exhortation: Persuasion and the Art of Equilibrium Selection
Spending, Taxes, and Expectations: Budget Deficits as Policy Instruments
Can Government Control the Economy?
2. Redistribution: A Success Story?
Economic Constraints and Redistribution
Uncertainty and Redistribution: Data
Government Commitment to Future Redistribution
Implications for Redistribution
Effectiveness of Redistributive Policy
Why Not Taxes?
Conclusions: Redistributive Possibilities
3. When Can Government Regulate?
The Scope of Regulation
Regulating Firms: Possibilities and Pitfalls
Regulating Consumer Behavior
Conditions for Regulatory Success
4. Producing Goods and Services: Getting the Right Mix
What Is Production?
Crowding Out Private Provision
Credibility as an Obstacle to Inducing Production
Credibility as an Obstacle to Restricting Production
Production Is Difficult
5. Economic Constraints and Political Institutions
Divided Government and the Politics of Gridlock
Federalism and the Devolution of Authority
Political and Policy Reform
What Do Politicians Know?
Institutional Design and Policy Effectiveness
6. Final Thoughts
What Can Government Do? Five Lessons
Conclusions: The Burden of Government
Notes
References
Index