The Public Critique of Welfare Economics: An Exploration / Timothy Besley, Stephen Coate.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Besley, Timothy.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Coate, Stephen.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w7083.

NBER working paper series no. w7083

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

The Public Critique of Welfare Economics

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1999.

Summary:

The welfare economic method for analyzing the case for government intervention is often criticized for ignoring the political determination of policies. While many economists accept the thrust of this critique, exactly when and how political determination interferes with a welfare economic analysis is not well understood. This paper explores the logic of the critique in a specific context, demonstrating how political determination of policy affects the case for government intervention. We show that one form of intervention is likely to have an impact on others through the political process. These spillover effects may even provide a justification for interventions that the welfare economic approach would reject.

Notes:

Print version record

April 1999.