Economics of the Public Sector [Hardcover]

Joseph E. Stiglitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1988 | ISBN-10: 0393956830 | ISBN-13: 978-0393956832 | Edition: 2nd

A longtime favorite among teachers and students, Economics of the Public Sector returns to the classroom in a fresh edition that has been fully revised to reflect the latest developments in public policy and economic research.

Professor Stiglitz builds on the book’s classic strengths: an integrated approach to public economics, a readable and inviting style, and careful attention to real-world problems and applications.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Winner of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics, Joseph E. Stiglitz is the author of Making Globalization Work; Globalization and Its Discontents; and, with Linda Bilmes, The Three Trillion Dollar War. He was chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and served as senior vice president and chief economist at the World Bank. He teaches at Columbia University and lives in New York City. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 754 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 2nd edition (May 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393956830
• ISBN-13: 978-0393956832
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,231,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph E. Stiglitz is a professor of economics at Columbia University and the recipient of a John Bates Clark Medal and a Nobel Prize. He is also the former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank. His books include Globalization and Its Discontents, The Three Trillion Dollar War, and Making Globalization Work. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excessively intuitive. But any way, he`s a Nobel Price, April 1, 2006

By 

Ricardo A. Hellmers "Ricar" (Asuncion, Paraguay) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Economics of the Public Sector: Third Edition (Hardcover)

Although I deeply respect J. Stiglitz, I prefer H. Rosen`s Public Finance. I found it more effective to learn this subject due to the deeper treatment of the models and theories.
The only aspect I would recommend it for is because it has Stiglitz wider view of the global tendencies intrinsically in some ways.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review of Public Sector Economics by J. Stiglitz, November 27, 2002

By 

L. Robert McConnell, DPA (Lansing, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Economics of the Public Sector: Third Edition (Hardcover)

Excessive use of graphs and charts which are very difficult to follow. Some chapters read easily, others very difficult to understand. Would be better if it had a complementary teacher's guide. LRM

60 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A very uneven text, April 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Economics of the Public Sector: Third Edition (Hardcover)

I found reading this book a very frustrating experience. The good things include:

* Solid undergraduate discussion of the economics of taxation;

* An introductory discussion of a great many of the fascinating policy controversies of our time;

* Often a lively text by one of the most powerful minds in contemporary economics.

Flaws include:

* A failure to update many of the data and references carried over from the preceding (1988) edition;

* Too much focus on American facts and institutions;

* A failure to understand the Public Choice perspective;

* A failure to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of the Flat Tax, and a refusal to cite the work of Hall, Rabushka, and Bradford in the area;

* A failure to describe the work of Ronald Coase properly;

* A sneering denigration of the stock market as a "gambling casino", without mentioning the role of the stock market in disciplining managers, in reallocating risks, and in diffusing ownership of large enterprises;

* A failure to appreciate how problematic the taxation of realized capital gains can be;

* A failure to appreciate the drawbacks of pay-as-you-go public old age pensions;

* A failure to appreciate the merits of vouchers enabling parents to choose among private as well as public schools;

* Finally, an unseemly deference to the Clintonista party line, unseemly in an academic.

The tragedy is that politicians, judges, and the better cut of journalists could use a better text on this subject.