Overview

Thisbookisacollectionofeightpapersthatwerepublished in aspecial symposium issueofEmpirical Economicsdur- ing 1999. These papers cover several areasofinterest in contemporary public economics, including tax incidence, underground economy, welfare system, fiscal federalism, public infrastructure and the growth of government. The contributionsutilizeavarietyofquantitativetoolsofanaly- sis, includingappliedeconometrics, appliedgeneralequilib- rium modeling analysis, technical efficiency analysis and institutional analysis. The introductory essay in the book summarizes the contributionsofapplied public economics papers inthisbookandplacesthem inabroadercontextof modempublicfinanceeconomictheory.Theobjectiveofthe bookistomaketheseessaysavailableinaconvenientform toscholarsandstudentsengaged inresearchonpublic pol- icytopicsaswell astoinstructorsofcoursesinpubliceco- nomics, both undergraduate and graduate. A briefmotiva- tionforthebookisgivenbelow. Thestudyofpubliceconomicshasexperiencedanumber of dramatic changes during the past two decades. These changes have revolutionized, in a fundamental way, the subjectofpublic economics. This is due largely to several majordevelopments ineconomictheory, includingtheroles ofinformation theory and game theory along with its de- rivative theories, such as designofinstitutions as well as inter-temporal analysis. These economic theory develop- ments have altered in a fundamental way the way econo- mists and policy analysts perceive the roleofgovernment. Alsothesedevelopmentshavecalledintoquestiontheabil- ityofgovernmentstocarryoutsomeofitstraditionaltasks, particularly the efficient design of redistribution and tax systems. The theoretical research in public economics has contributedtothedevelopmentofnew instrumentsand ap- proaches to tackle problemsofeconomic policy in a more effectivemanner.Giventhattheevaluationofpolicyoptions requiresasoundunderstandingofboththenatureandmag- nitudeofeconomic, behaviouralandinstitutionalconstraints Preface VI thatarefaced bygovernments, there isaneedforempirical analysisofunderlyingpolicyquestionsandissues. Thiscollectionofessays on empirical finance indicates thatempiricalassessmentispossibleusingarichanddiverse setofempirical approaches. The various papers exemplify someofthevarioustechniquesthatcan beused byapplied researchersforsheddinglightonthequestionsofinterestin appliedpublicfinanceanditsapplications.