Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice [Paperback]

Gordon Tullock (Author), Arthur Seldon (Author), Gordon L. Brady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2002

This book provides a much-needed introduction to public choice thought and public policy by three acknowledged leaders in the field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The neglect of public-choice analysis is unfortunate, but thanks to the repeated failure of modern government, that can't last forever. -- Roger Fontaine in The Washington Times on July 16, 2002

With Wall Street now all but begging for government action, Government Failure comes across as contrarian at best. But the -- Mark H. Rodeffer in NationalJournal.com on July 25, 2002

With Wall Street now all but begging for government action, Government Failure comes across as contrarian at best. But the -- NationalJournal.com

About the Author

Gordon Tullock is a professor of law and economics at George Mason University and has over 300 published works to his credit. A founder of the public choice theory of economics, Tullock resides in Virginia.Arthur Seldon is a founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. Gordon L. Brady is a senior research scholar at the Center for the Study of Public Choice at George Mason University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 185 pages
• Publisher: Cato Institute (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930865201
• ISBN-13: 978-1930865204
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb treatment of rent-seeking and log-rolling, August 13, 2003

By 

B. Lotfinia "Babak" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice (Paperback)

Since this is a book written by three authors separately, I shall discuss each part on its own, but first a few general remarks.

My biggest gripe is that the primary topic is not "public choice" per se, but rather "rent-seeking" with some discussion about externalities and so forth. While the discussion is illuminating and generally crisp and comprehensible, the over-use of the term "public choice analyis" proved annoying: Hardly a page went by without "public choice analyis," sometimes twice in the same sentence.

The general thrust of the text is that, however well-intentioned, no government can sustain a vibrant and diverse welfare-state over the long-term. Entrenched bureaucracies simply can't cope with the vagaries and varieties of human desires. Only the free market can hope to provide for the panoply of individuals' interests.

Part I: A concise, lucid, introduction to the theory of public choice. Professor Tullock has a definitely "small-government" mentality (which I share), but his discussion is still even-handed. The sole problem I have is that the few tables and graphs he employs are completely unitelligible to me. Fortunately, they're not essential, as his writing should be clear enough. The most important topics are rent-seeking and log-rolling, the former of which is the topic most treated by the co-authors. Also of interest is the discussion about bureaucracies.

Part II: A far ranging, perhaps wandering, discussion of the application of rent-seeking to American regulatory policy. Brady writes with a slightly more fervent tone than does Tullock, with a clear but tempered opinion of the roles lawyers, regulators, etc. Generally interesting, but the chapters somewhat lack coherence with each other beyond the theory.

Part III: Sheldon here presents the most entertaining and forcefully written section of the book. Full of vigor, he brings ip several issues that are of critical interest to proponents of small government: the Fabian fallacy, the growth of addiction to the welfare-state, and the welfare-state's role in the collapse of the family.

A great introduction for the interested student of politics or economics.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cold, unforgiving look at governmental economic policies, August 11, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice (Paperback)

Collaboratively written by American economists Gordon Tullock, Gordon Brady, and British economist Arthur Seldon, Government Failure: A Primer In Public Choice is a cold, unforgiving look at governmental economic policies, ranging from how American special interest groups lobby reap enormous and destructive favors, to the manifold disasters that have come from British governmental interventions in the economy. A caution about he concentration of power promoted by the European Union rounds out this stark, scholarly, and persuasive treatise. Also available in hardcover (193086521X..,), Government Failure is strongly recommended reading for students of Economics and Political Science.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas, poorly presented., March 30, 2011

By 

Barry Milliken (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice (Hardcover)

I'm entirely sympathetic to the ideas of Public Choice Theory from my other reading.
However, I did not find these ideas to be well presented in this book.
The first problem is the different styles of the 3 authors:
Tullock has a sketchy meandering style. This is not a comprehensive overview. He digresses into apologetics for how preliminary many of his conclusions are. His presentation of crucial concepts is not as clear or as compelling as it deserves to be. He fails to address many obvious counter arguments.
Brady has the opposite problem from sketchy: He spends far more time than necessary in his chapter on internet regulation in presenting the technical weeds of internet history.
Seldon is the best writer of the three, presenting well structured and engaging ideas. Some of his non-essential historical comments (Lincoln) are wrong headed as other reviewers have observed.

Since one on the Chapters is titled Bureaucracy, I was stunned that no reference is made to von Mises' legendary "Bureaucracy" (1944). I took the opportunity to finally read it (free at the mises.org site).
Wow! what a difference! Mises is compelling, comprehensive, cogent, well structured, erudite and convincing. His historical references span all cultures and eras. In one paragraph he demolishes Keynesian bureaucracy more brilliantly than I've seen anywhere. Hat's off to Mises. Shame on these 3 for ignoring him.