Public economics studies how government taxing and spending activities affect the economy—economic efficiency and the distribution of income and wealth. This comprehensive text in public economics covers the core topics market failure and taxation as well as recent developments in the political economy and public choice literatures. It is unique not only in its broad scope but in its balance between public finance and public choice and its combination of theory and relevant empirical evidence.

After introducing the theory and methodology of public economics and reviewing the efficiency of the competitive equilibrium, the book presents a historical and theoretical overview of the public sector. It then discusses departures from efficiency, including imperfect competition and asymmetric information; issues in political economy, including rent-seeking (a topic often omitted from other texts); equity; taxation issues, including tax evasion and its consequences; fiscal federalism and tax competition among independent jurisdictions; and the intertemporal issues of social security and economic growth.

This text introduces the reader to the theory of public economics and the most significant results of the analysis, providing an overview of the current state of the field. It is accessible to anyone with a background of intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics and can be used in advanced undergraduate as well as graduate courses. Although the mathematics has been kept to a minimum, the book remains analytical rather than discursive. Annotated suggestions for further reading and numerous exercises are included at the end of each chapter.

About the Authors

Jean Hindriks is Professor in the Economics Department and Codirector of the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE) at the Université catholique de Louvain.

Gareth D. Myles is Head of Department and Professor of Economics at the University of Exeter and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He is the author of Public Economics.

This solutions manual for Intermediate Public Economics (MIT Press, 2006) offers students an opportunity to practice using the analytical tools of public economics at intermediate and more advanced levels. The 424 exercises in the textbook (all of which are covered in the solutions manual) vary widely in nature and difficulty; some involve reflection on the models used and the discussion of assumptions and conclusions, while others work through general arguments in the text using specific functional forms. Several require the use of data to test theoretical predictions. The more challenging exercises explore and extend the material in the text. The Manual gives complete solutions to the analytical questions and provides guidance to the major points in the discussion problems, occasionally extending the discussion to related issues. In answers to the exercises analyzing data, the authors have kept the econometrics simple both in the estimation package employed and in the level of econometric sophistication. All regressions equations have been computed using Microsoft Excel. Advanced students can employ a wider range of test statistics and conduct appropriate integration tests on time series data. Professors and students will find this book an important resource for their work with the textbook.

Le papy boom a commencé avec plus de 100 personnes supplémentaires par jour qui rejoignent les rangs des pensionnés. La sécurité sociale accuse déjà un deficit de plusieurs milliards lié au vieillissement et non pas à la crise.

Que fait-on?

Jean Hindriks (Senior Fellow à Itinera Institute) et Ivan Van de Cloot (Chief Economist à Itinera Institut) font un constat alarmant (mais pas alarmiste) de notre système de pension. Ils posent clairement les enjeux et proposent des actions concrètes et progressives pour remettre notre système sur orbite en préservant la solidarité entre générations. Pour révitaliser nos pensions, il faut rajeunir notre système.

Livre complet PDF

De Copernicus hervorming van het jaar 2000 verdorde voor ze tot bloei kon komen. België heeft de hoogste publieke uitgaven en tewerkstelling in de OESO en toch blijven de prestaties van de publieke sector teleurstellend zowel op kwalitatief als kwantitatief vlak. Met uitdagingen voor ons als de globalisering, vergrijzing, de oorlog om talent en de digitale revolutie is het hoog tijd voor een appel tot een overheid die niet roeit maar stuurt. Jean Hindriks maakt in deze studie de diagnose en stelt een paar concrete “quick wins” voor.

Sous la direction de Micael Castanheira et Jean Hindriks 

Numéro spécial de la revue Reflets & Perspectives de la vie économique 

Editions De Boeck Université