Public choice theory and local government : a comparative analysis of the UK and the USA / George A. Boyne.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boyne, George A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Local government--Great Britain.

Local government.

Social choice.

Great Britain.

Local government--United States.

United States.

Social choice--Great Britain.

Social choice--United States.

Physical Description:

x, 204 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire : Macmillan Press ; New York : St. Martin's Press, 1998.

Summary:

The attempt to introduce competition into the public sector has been prominent on the agenda of most Western governments for the past 15 years. In the UK and US in particular, government policies have laid heavy emphasis on the benefits of competition. The rise of public choice theory on academic agendas has paralleled, and in some cases informed, the concern of policy-makers with competition. However, academic discussions of public choice are often superficial and dismissive rather than critical and evaluative. Political scientists in particular tend to be suspicious of public choice theory because of its "economic" assumptions and methods of analysis. This book provides a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of the empirical validity of public choice theories of the performance of local governments in the UK and the US.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-201) and index.

ISBN:

0333641876

0312215428

OCLC:

38527856