Talk about government cutbacks is as common as actual program elimination is rare. Even the most ardent proponents of downsizing government are reluctant to name the programs they have in their sights.

This short and very readable book examines why and when policies or organizations are terminated, how they can be terminated successfully, and what often prevents them from being terminated. The author reviews the literature on termination and a variety of case studies in order to identify the theories of termination that have been supported by research. He advances seven conclusions about program terminations that should be taped to the refrigerator of every social scientist, citizen, and public official committed to achieving a balanced budget by 2002.

Talk about government cutbacks is as common as actual program elimination is rare. Even the most ardent proponents of downsizing government are reluctant to name the programs they have in their sights.

This short and very readable book examines why and when policies or organizations are terminated, how they can be terminated successfully, and what often prevents them from being terminated. The author reviews the literature on termination and a variety of case studies in order to identify the theories of termination that have been supported by research. He advances seven conclusions about program terminations that should be taped to the refrigerator of every social scientist, citizen, and public official committed to achieving a balanced budget by 2002.

Compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CPI is used to index Social Security payments and many other federal programs, as well as to adjust tax brackets. Today, the accuracy of the CPI is being hotly debated, particularly in light of the Boskin Commission report that concluded in December 1996 that the CPI overstates inflation by 1.1%. If accepted and applied in the formulation of economic policy, the report would have major implications for balancing the federal budget. It would have a direct impact on the lives of Americans who are beneficiaries of government programs as well as on everyone who pays taxes. In this book, Dean Baker introduces and explains the significance of the debate, presents the full text of the Boskin Commission report and finally discusses in a far-reaching and insightful analysis both the Commission's research methodology and its conclusions.

How serious is medical care inflation in the United States? For many years, price indexes for medical care have outstripped the overall rate of inflation. For example, between 1986 and 1996, the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.5 percent per year, roughly exceeding the annual increase in the overall CPI during this period by 75 percent. Many economists, however, believe that economic statistics on medical care do not accurately measure medical care price changes because it is especially difficult to construct accurate price indexes for medical markets. Some very recent research, reported in this volume, suggests that --contrary to the usual presumption of runaway medical inflation --prices for at least some medical care interventions are not rising rapidly and may even be falling. Understanding medical care inflation is important for policy issues such as medical care cost containment. Medical care price indexes also affect other economic statistics on medical care, including national accounts and the national health accounts. Understanding economic trends in the medical care sector is vitally dependent on accurate medical care price measures. This volume, the result of a conference cosponsored by the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute, brings together state-of-the-art methodological and empirical work on the measurement of medical outcomes and prices. It will be a useful tool for anyone concerned about medical inflation, medical outcomes, the quality of medical treatments, and public policy toward medical cost containment.

This book brings together a rich selection of up-to-date practical experience of EU regional policy from across Europe. It provides different perspectives on the design and operation of regional development strategies under the Structural Funds, from people closely involved in studying, managing or advising on the process at EU, national and regional levels. It therefore offers a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of the structural policies than has been available hitherto. This will prove particularly useful to researchers, practitioners and students interested in European regional policies and processes.

Are resources allocated more efficiently through private ownership than through the public sector? The experiences of eleven newly privatised companies are examined to evaluate this hypothesis. With the Government's pro-privatization policies in place for over a decade, this is a prime time to evaluate theory versus reality.

There is no magic formula for balancing fiscal policy and economic performance. As a scholar and policy advisor, Vito Tanzi has made a major contribution to identifying links between public finance and macro- and microeconomic consequences. His findings bear relevance in both developing and industrialized economies. The essays in this volume and its companion, Fiscal Policy and Economic Reforms, highlight many of these interconnected issues, for instance the interaction between budgetary policy and economic aggregates, such as employment, inflation and growth, and the implication of economic linkages for designing fiscal policies. Further areas of interconnection include expenditure policies and alternative deficit financing strategies, and the trade-offs between macro- and microeconomic objectives. The list of contributors includes Max Corden, John Makin, Ronald McKinnon and Richard Musgrave.

Paul Goodman left his mark in a number of fields: he went from being known as a social critic and philosopher of the New Left to poet and literary critic to author of influential works on education (Compulsory Mis-education) and community planning (Communitas). Perhaps his most significant achievement was in his contribution to the founding and theoretical portion of the classic text Gestalt Therapy (with F. S. Perls and R. E. Hefferline, 1951), still regarded as the cornerstone of Gestalt practice.

Taylor Stoher's Here Now Next is the first scholarly account of the origins of Gestalt therapy, told from the point of view of its chief theoretician by a man who knew him well. Stoehr describes both Goodman's role in establishing the principal ideas of the Gestalt movement and the ways in which his practice as a therapist changed him, ultimately leading to a new vocation as the "socio-therapist" of the body politic. He places Goodman in the midst of his world, showing how his personal and public life - including his political activities in the 1960s - were transformed by Gestalt ideas, and he presents revealing sketches of other major figures from those days - Fritz Perls, Wilhelm Reich, A. S. Neill, and others.

This is a third edition of a successful textbook that provides a contemporary account of how social services in the UK are paid for. The new edition brings the textbook up-to-date with its fast-moving subject area, explaining the finance of human services - health care, education, housing, social security a nd social care-through a review of the economic literature. It also gives an account of how the cash to pay for the services actually reaches schools, hospitals and social service departments, right from the start of the process, examining how government raises taxes, through to allocation of the funds. Both comprehensive and expertly written, this textbook will continue to feature as key reading for a variety of Social and Policy related courses.

In today 's globalized and competitive business environment, companies increasingly look to restructuring, mergers & acquisitions and downsizing to survive, grow and maximize profits. However, when they are not managed in a socially responsible manner, restructurings may exert the negative impact on employees, shareholders, communities, and society as a whole.

The book empirically explores the phenomena of corporate social responsibility (CSR), restructuring, and relationships with firms performance in China. It gives an insight into how Chinese firms respond to expectations of stakeholders by making social goals a part of their overall business operations. It also gives a fresh view of the new concept of socially responsible restructuring. For those seeking to promote socially responsible practices in restructuring, the book provides a unique and stimulating analysis and touchstone.

Originally published in 1919, A primer of National Finance discusses elements of financial principles with reference to facts and figures of British National Finance, Britain's financial position and general outline of where finances stood at the time of publication. Higgs aims to explain essential information about the political economy in a simple and concise way to reach a wider audience on issues related to wealth and production. This title will be of interest to students of Economics and Political History.

Since it was first published Public Sector Economics has become the most widely adopted undergraduate textbook in its field. Major revisions have been made to this fourth edition while preserving the central objective of the book, which is to explain the relevant principles and the relationships between public expenditure, taxation and the behaviour of economic agents such as individuals, households and firms.* A thoroughly revised edition of the standard UK text in the area * All statistics bought up to date * A wealth of new material, particularly on taxation

How to overcome barriers to the long-term investments that are essential for solving the world's biggest problems There has never been a greater need for long-term investments to tackle the world's most difficult problems, such as climate change, human health, and decaying infrastructure. And it is increasingly unlikely that the public sector will be willing or able to fill this gap. If these critical needs are to be met, the major pools of long-term, patient capital-including pensions, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and wealthy individuals and families-will have to play a large role. In this accessible and authoritative account of long-term capital investment, two leading experts on the subject, Victoria Ivashina and Josh Lerner, highlight the significant hurdles facing long-term investors and propose concrete ways to overcome these difficulties.

Do public goods and services, such as streets, parks and dams have to be provided by government? In Public Goods and Private Communities, Fred Foldvary's innovative application of public choice and spatial theory to questions of urban economics and governance shows how collective goods can be provided by agents in a market process.Rejecting the market-failure hypothesis, Dr Foldvary argues that an entrepreneur can provide collective goods by consensual community agreements. Instead of focusing particular services, as previous studies have done, this book concerns itself with entire private communities. A series of case studies demonstrates how real world communities, such as Walt Disney World, the Reston Association in Virginia and the private neighbourhoods of St Louis, are in fact financing their own public goods and services in accordance with this theory. For such communities to rise and prosper, the author contends, government must eliminate restrictions such as zoning as well as the taxation of private services. After considering the implications of his work for urban economies - at a time when many of America's cities are plagued by decay, violence and poverty - Dr Foldvary argues that prosperity can be restored to cities if private communities are allowed to develop. As an original response to an urgent, contemporary problem this well-written book will be welcomed by social scientists, policy makers and business leaders seeking solutions to problems of urban decay.

It is generally assumed that current deficits are intrinsically bad and in need of correction. The Current Account and Foreign Debt argues that this is not always the case. The author analyses a broad range of issues in support of this argument. These include:
* Approaches to current account balance
* Short run issues
* Longer run issues
* Policy

The book can be read as an integrated whole, or alternatively, each chapter can be consulted without reference to the others. The Current Account and Foreign Debt provides the counterbalance to a common misapprehension in economic theory. It will be a valuable guide for all those interested in international monetary theory.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203031040

This book presents an in-depth analysis of key recommendations of the consecutive state finance commissions (SFCs) across states of India in the local and national perspective. It reviews the working of SFCs and their critical role in strengthening local governments, both Panchayats and municipalities in the various states. The volume attempts to identify some of the emerging issues related to the efficacy of SFC in fiscal decentralization. It appraises nearly eighty SFC reports and actions taken thereon by the respective State Governments with contextual analysis.

This book offers an intellectual history of the libertarian case for markets in education. Currie-Knight tracks the diverse and evolving arguments libertarians have made, with each chapter devoted to a different libertarian thinker, their reasoning and their impact. What are the issues libertarians have had with state-controlled public schooling? What have been the libertarian voices on the benefits of markets in education? How have these thinkers interacted with law and policy? All of these questions are considered in this important text for those interested in debates over market mechanisms in education and those who are keen to understand how those arguments have changed over time.

The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is facing an existential crisis. It is ideologically exhausted, economically and morally bankrupt, increasingly unpopular with its own people, isolated, and friendless abroad. It is engaged in a struggle for survival. Nevertheless, as of the mid-1990s, Iran's weaknesses and turmoil have elicited little commentary from the outside world. Ahmed Hashim examines the acute threats and severe problems fading the rulers of Iran in the 1990s. He argues that the IRI entered the latter half of the 1990s faced with a conjunction of acute pressures threatening its political legitimacy, domestic stability, and national security.

America's debt is in the trillions--and yet, like those who worry about borrowing five dollars but not about their unaffordable mortgage, Americans fail to pay attention to this serious situation. The press hovers over annual budgets and the associated deficits (and rare surpluses), but pays little attention to the national debt and even less to the interest spent serving it. Federal politicians seem as powerless to control the debt as they are uninformed about its nature. After tracing fluctuations in the finances of the country from its beginning until 1940, this book examines the administrations of the next 12 presidents (FDR through George W. Bush) and the annual budget deficits and interest expenses that fed the national debt. The startup debt of each administration is shown; then the change in debt through the end of the administration is analyzed to show what areas of government incurred overspending and how much was overspent. Also included are brief biographies of each president, and discussions of foreign and domestic situations, including judicial decisions and sociological changes, that affected fiscal policies and fueled the urge to overspend.

This book analyses the role of public sector accounting, and the relevance of accounting frameworks, in assisting financially sustainable policy making. Focussing on the European context, the book examines financial reporting, management accounting, budgeting and other reporting requirements, for example, Government Finance Statistics. It also analyses emerging forms of reporting, such as popular reporting and integrated reporting, which may also be considered by policy makers, standard setters, and managers of public sector entities.

These essays are a product of a co-operative research project between American and Taiwanese social scientists. Of particular interest is the chapter discussing a comparative study of industrial policy, productivity growth and structural change in manufacturing.

In "Debt and Development" Stuart Corbridge offers an exciting new approach to the study of both debt and development, focusing on the international debt crisis of the 1980's and 1990's, and it's economic and geo-political consequences. Moving far beyond the framework of a narrative account, the author demonstrates that interpretations of this crisis - and attempts to manage it - are themselves reflections of wider assumptions about the dynamics of development and the organization of the global economy.

Part I sets out to provide the 'standard narrative' of the debt crisis from the OPEC oil price rises onwards, ending with the most recent attempts at crisis management. After establishing, as much as is possible, the facts of the crisis, the author then provides in part II a demonstration of how this crisis might be interpreted from three quite different perspectives: a free market 'system stability' approach; a Keynesian 'system-correction' approach; and a Marxian 'system instability' approach. In a conclusion, the author considers how these competing perspectives on debt and development might be judged.

Based on wide teaching experience in the field," Debt and Development" will be welcomed by students and teachers of geography, developmental studies, economics, international relations and political science.

`... the most convincing argument for the mixed economy that I have read in my lifetime ...' - Bernard Crick

`... path-breaking analysis of the links between the values of community and the imperatives of an advanced economy... exemplifies a tentative but unmistakable new paradigm... a subtle argument.' - London Review of Books

`...the book makes an interesting contribution to the emerging alternatives to the prevailing, New Right, ideology of the 1980's' - Robert Pyper, Talking Politics

`...must be read by the politicians partly for its exposition of a theory of a sensible mixed economy... even more valuable if read by accountants, bankers, economists and other specialists who, like the citizen, have one day to realise that the Whole is far, far more than the sum of the parts.' - Political Quarterly

`The most philosophical of the books reviewed, and the one which might in the long run have the greatest impact on our political thinking... [Boswell] takes the argument for what he calls `public cooperation' one stage further than all the others, in that he treats the quality of human relations in the economic field as not just a means to an end (eg high production or stopping wage inflation) but an end in itself.' - Long Range Planning

Should countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe follow the Chilean approach to economic restructuring, market liberalization, and stabilization? Following years of hyperinflation and domestic turmoil, Chile undertook a series of dramatic economic reforms. Chile has also served as a social laboratory for such policies as privatization and social security reform that are of interest to both developed and developing economies. Having implemented much of the original reform program and emerging in the 1990s with a new democratic government, Chile also raises interesting questions about what comes next in its policies to promote growth.

The advent in the 1990s of Chile as a model for economic reform is something of a surprise. Many of the reforms were actually introduced in the 1970s, and for a number of years many seemed to have failed to achieve their primary objectives. The more recent, positive view of the Chilean experience results from developments after 1983. Since then, the Chilean economy has grown robustly. What remains controversial is the question why the benefits of the reforms took so long to emerge.

In this book, international scholars review the reforms in Chile and assess their effectiveness. They evaluate stabilization policy, economic growth, privatization, reform of the social security system, and the politics of economic reform. Now that many of the original reforms have been largely completed, and Chile has maintained a coherent macroeconomic policy with slowly declining inflation, the authors prescribe what Chile must do to sustain growth in the future.

In addition to the editors, contributors include Eduardo Bitran, University of Chile; Vittorio Corbo, Catholic University of Chile; Peter Diamond, MIT; Sebastian Edwards, University of California, Los Angeles, and the World Bank; Stanley Fischer, MIT; Felipe Larrain B., Catholic University of Chile; Mario Marcel, IDB; Manuel Marf?n, CIEPLAN; Ra?l E. S?ez, CIEPLAN; Andr's Solimano, the World Bank; Andr's Velasco, New York University; and Salvador Vald?s-Prieto, Catholic University of Chile.

These essays are a product of a co-operative research project between American and Taiwanese social scientists. Of particular interest is the chapter discussing a comparative study of industrial policy, productivity growth and structural change in manufacturing.