Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. This Advanced Introduction presents a focused narrative about political decision-making based on the work that has defined public choice as a discipline. Randall G. Holcombe emphasizes the theoretical foundations of Public Choice, examining the way that voter preferences are aggregated through democratic decision-making, the way that political exchange leads to the production of public policy, and the way that the constitutional framework within which political activity takes place is designed. He provides a concise discussion of the main models of Public Choice in an engaging manner, giving readers a foundation for understanding the theoretical and empirical work in the field. Each chapter ends with a Notes section that discusses the research on which the chapter is based, with an emphasis on the pioneering work that has shaped the development of Public Choice. Undergraduate and graduate level students in economics, political science and public administration will find this introduction an essential resource for understanding political decision making. Instructors in those fields will find this book a useful and affordable text and an indispensable resource for teaching Public Choice.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. This Advanced Introduction presents a focused narrative about political decision-making based on the work that has defined public choice as a discipline. Randall G. Holcombe emphasizes the theoretical foundations of Public Choice, examining the way that voter preferences are aggregated through democratic decision-making, the way that political exchange leads to the production of public policy, and the way that the constitutional framework within which political activity takes place is designed. He provides a concise discussion of the main models of Public Choice in an engaging manner, giving readers a foundation for understanding the theoretical and empirical work in the field. Each chapter ends with a Notes section that discusses the research on which the chapter is based, with an emphasis on the pioneering work that has shaped the development of Public Choice. Undergraduate and graduate level students in economics, political science and public administration will find this introduction an essential resource for understanding political decision making. Instructors in those fields will find this book a useful and affordable text and an indispensable resource for teaching Public Choice.

There are two ways people coordinate their actions: through cooperation, exercised by economic power, and through control, exercised by political power. When economic and political power are held by the same people, the result is stagnation; when those who hold economic power are not the same people who hold political power, the result is progress. This book presents the ways in which economic power and political power can be separated, and how they can remain so, by analyzing the nature of power and the differences between economic and political power. The book then discusses the history of economic and political power, including hunter-gatherer societies, agrarian societies, and modern commercial and industrial societies. This background lends insight into why political and economic power were typically held by the same people, and why recently those without political power have been able to acquire economic power. Incentives play a key role in understanding how those two types of power can become separated, and why there is always a tendency for them to recombine. But ideas also play a crucial role, including the influence of the Enlightenment, on the progress that has occurred in the last several hundred years.

At the transition from the 20th to the 21st Century, land use planning and growth management have become two of the most controversial issues in state and local government policy. Primarily the province of local government until the 1970s, state governments have become increasingly involved in land use planning. In the 1990s Vice President Gore's promotion of "Smart Growth" has brought it into the national arena, while President Clinton has devoted considerable time to land use, land preservation, and urban development issues. Critically examining government land use policies and arguments supporting them, the contributors explore market alternatives to government land use planning. Despite the apparent popularity of government restrictions on land use, the scholars writing for this volume advocate a more market-based approach. Showing that the problems of sprawling development have been misunderstood and overstated, they argue that land use policy can be better improved through market mechanisms than by the central planning of land use bureaucracies.

The world is too complex for anyone to ever hope to understand all of its interrelationships simultaneously. Yet small aspects of the world we live in can be represented by comprehensible models. This is why economists use models in their analysis and research. In Economic Models and Methodology, Holcombe examines the way in which models are used in economics, and makes specific methodological recommendations more restrictive than the methodological doctrine of pluralism. Holcombe's book is not an encyclopedia of methodology, but rather an analysis of mainstream methodology, and an examination of the use of models in economics. Holcombe examines the role of assumptions in models, the use of empirical models in economics, and specific applications of models in both macroeconomics and microeconomics.

Presenting a concise overview of the post-war decline in popularity of the Austrian school of economics and its subsequent revival in the late twentieth century, this updated second edition offers a theoretical and historical introduction to the ideas of the Austrian school and its intellectually distinguishing qualities. Featuring fresh and insightful comparisons between the Austrian school and other schools of thought, this enhanced second edition includes an expanded discussion on the evolution of the Austrian school in the 21st century. The Advanced Introduction considers the field's key originators and proponents and reflects on the acceleration in interest in the last two decades. Key features include: An illustration of the key arguments that have defined heterodox economics, including the Austrian school's role in the socialist calculation debate In-depth discussions of entrepreneurship and the role of the firm in the scholarship of the Austrian school New material relating Austrian economics to other schools of thought. Undergraduate and graduate students in economics and political science will find this Advanced Introduction indispensable for understanding the revival of the Austrian school. Policymakers will also benefit from its concise and sharp overview of the school and its insights into the key features and debates.

This volume argues that the virtues of the market system, private property, and freedom of exchange can be applied to enhance the quality of life. Although people recognize in the abstract that markets work better than government in allocating resources, government's presence in the economy increases as government intervenes to deal with different problems. This book shows how the market mechanism that has enhanced material well-being is better suited than government planning to improve the quality of life. After examining general principles guiding both market and government allocation of resources, the book then examines specific policy issues, including environmental protection, health care, regulation of product quality, and land use planning.

The book first examines the general principles that guide both market and government allocation of resources to show why market mechanisms work better than government planning to enhance the quality of life. Then specific policy issues are examined to provide examples of how market forces can be harnessed to improve the quality of life. Some of those issues are environmental protection, health care, the regulation of product quality, and land use planning.

Analyzing government as the product of exchange among individuals who differ in their bargaining power, this approach shows why individuals agree to political institutions that give their governments extensive power, and why even the most powerful government benefits from constitutional rules constraining the government's power. This foundation is used to examine a wide range of government activities, including its protection of rights, its military activities and democratic political institutions. Randall G. Holcombe is the author of Public Finance and the Political Process, An Economic Analysis of Democracy, Public Sector Economics and Economic Models and Methodology.

During recessions state government fiscal crises are widespread, as states find their revenues inadequate to meet their expenditure demands. This volume shows that state fiscal crises have only one significant cause: revenue downturns associated with recessions. Other analysts have argued that fiscal crises are the result of an interaction of many complex causes, including inadequate tax bases, increasing expenditure demands, and limits placed on state governments by voters. This analysis examines these other factors and shows that while they present significant challenges to state policymakers, they are not the cause of fiscal crises. The book presents an improved methodology for measuring cyclical variability of revenues and uses this methodology to show that there is no way to restructure state tax systems in order to appreciably reduce the fiscal stress associated with recessions. Fiscal stress can be lessened by setting aside revenues during prosperous years in a rainy day fund, but current rainy day funds are not large enough to eliminate the fiscal stress caused by recessions.

In this book on new fiscal approaches, nineteen experts examine topics ranging from constitutional reform and debt fatigue to fiscal rules and zero-based budgeting. Together, these contributions inform a multifaceted, nuanced argument for the need to formalize spending restraint and redefine state debt to include unfunded liabilities. Scholars will find the book useful as a reference tool explaining how rules-based fiscal policy is used to address debt fatigue and unsustainable spending growth. Legislators and practitioners will find the book useful as a reference source in designing and simulating second generation fiscal rules, and educators will find the book helpful for its close analysis of policies in representative states such as Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, and California.

Presenting a concise overview of the post-war decline in popularity of the Austrian school of economics and its subsequent revival in the late twentieth century, this updated second edition offers a theoretical and historical introduction to the ideas of the Austrian school and its intellectually distinguishing qualities. Featuring fresh and insightful comparisons between the Austrian school and other schools of thought, this enhanced second edition includes an expanded discussion on the evolution of the Austrian school in the 21st century. The Advanced Introduction considers the field's key originators and proponents and reflects on the acceleration in interest in the last two decades. Key features include: An illustration of the key arguments that have defined heterodox economics, including the Austrian school's role in the socialist calculation debate In-depth discussions of entrepreneurship and the role of the firm in the scholarship of the Austrian school New material relating Austrian economics to other schools of thought. Undergraduate and graduate students in economics and political science will find this Advanced Introduction indispensable for understanding the revival of the Austrian school. Policymakers will also benefit from its concise and sharp overview of the school and its insights into the key features and debates.

Models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences and that candidates adjust their platforms to conform with those preferences; however, the direction of causation is largely the opposite. Political elites offer policy platforms to voters, and voters adopt those policies - they follow their leaders. Following Their Leaders argues that policies are designed by the elite and the electorate has little say. Preferences for public policy tend to be anchored in a political identity associated with a candidate, party, or ideology; voters' preferences on most issues are derived from their anchor preferences. Holcombe argues that because citizens adopt the policies offered by the elite, democratic institutions are ineffective constraints on the exercise of political power. This volume explores political institutions that help control the elite who exercise political power and discusses the implications political preferences have on democracies.

Models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences and that candidates adjust their platforms to conform with those preferences; however, the direction of causation is largely the opposite. Political elites offer policy platforms to voters, and voters adopt those policies - they follow their leaders. Following Their Leaders argues that policies are designed by the elite and the electorate has little say. Preferences for public policy tend to be anchored in a political identity associated with a candidate, party, or ideology; voters' preferences on most issues are derived from their anchor preferences. Holcombe argues that because citizens adopt the policies offered by the elite, democratic institutions are ineffective constraints on the exercise of political power. This volume explores political institutions that help control the elite who exercise political power and discusses the implications political preferences have on democracies.

This welcome work argues that government is the result of a contract arrived at by individuals with varying bargaining power. Holcombe explores such issues as why the political system protects individual's rights, why individuals agree to political institutions that give their governments extensive power, and why even the most powerful government benefits from constitutional rules which constrain its power. He arrives at a theory of rights, constitutions, and government that does not rely, as economists have traditionally done, on value judgments. Very much at the cutting edge of economic thinking, this book will interest undergraduates and professionals in the fields of economics, political science, and government.

Housing policy not only aff ects all Americans' quality of life, but has a direct impact on their fi nancial well being. About 70 percent of American households own their own homes, and for most, their homes represent the majority of their net worth. Renters are aff ected by housing policy. Even the small minority of Americans who are homeless are aff ected by housing policies specifi cally targeted to low-income individuals.

The government's increasing involvement in housing markets, fed by popular demand that government "do something" to address real problems of mortgage defaults and loans, provides good reason to take a new look at the public sector in housing markets. Crises in prime mortgage lending may lower the cost of housing, but the poor and homeless cannot benefi t because of increases in unemployment. Even the private market is heavily regulated. Government policies dictate whether people can build new housing on their land, what type of housing they can build, the terms allowed in rental contracts, and much more.

This volume considers the eff ects of government housing policies and what can be done to make them work better. It shows that many problems are the result of government rules and regulations. Even in a time of foreclosures, the market can still do a crucial a job of allocating resources, just as it does in other markets. Consequently, the appropriate policy response may well be to signifi cantly reduce, not increase, government presence in housing markets. "Housing America" is a courageous and comprehensive eff ort to examine housing policies in the United States and to show how such policies aff ect the housing market.

"Randall G. Holcombe" is research fellow at the Independent Institute and DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University. He is author of twelve books and more than 100 articles published in academic and professional journals. His books include "Writing Off Ideas: Taxation, Foundations, and Philanthropy in America, Public Policy and the Quality of Life, From Liberty to Democracy: Th e Transformation of American Government," and "Entrepreneurship and Economic Progress."

"Benjamin W. Powell" is research fellow at the Independent Institute and assistant professor of economics at Suff olk University. He is author of more than two dozen scholarly articles and editor of the book, "Making Poor Nations Rich: Entrepreneurship and the Process of Development."

There are two ways people coordinate their actions: through cooperation, exercised by economic power, and through control, exercised by political power. When economic and political power are held by the same people, the result is stagnation; when those who hold economic power are not the same people who hold political power, the result is progress. This book presents the ways in which economic power and political power can be separated, and how they can remain so, by analyzing the nature of power and the differences between economic and political power. The book then discusses the history of economic and political power, including hunter-gatherer societies, agrarian societies, and modern commercial and industrial societies. This background lends insight into why political and economic power were typically held by the same people, and why recently those without political power have been able to acquire economic power. Incentives play a key role in understanding how those two types of power can become separated, and why there is always a tendency for them to recombine. But ideas also play a crucial role, including the influence of the Enlightenment, on the progress that has occurred in the last several hundred years.

Problems associated with cronyism, corporatism, and policies that favor the elite over the masses have received increasing attention in recent years. Political Capitalism explains that what people often view as the result of corruption and unethical behavior are symptoms of a distinct system of political economy. The symptoms of political capitalism are often viewed as the result of government intervention in a market economy, or as attributes of a capitalist economy itself. Randall G. Holcombe combines well-established theories in economics and the social sciences to show that political capitalism is not a mixed economy, or government intervention in a market economy, or some intermediate step between capitalism and socialism. After developing the economic theory of political capitalism, Holcombe goes on to explain how changes in political ideology have facilitated the growth of political capitalism, and what can be done to redirect public policy back toward the public interest.

Government is analysed as the product of exchange among individuals who differ in their bargaining power. This approach shows why individuals agree to political institutions that give their governments extensive power, and why even the most powerful government benefits from constitutional rules constraining the government's power. This foundation is used to examine a wide range of government activities, including its protection of rights, its military activities, and democratic political institutions.

Problems associated with cronyism, corporatism, and policies that favor the elite over the masses have received increasing attention in recent years. Political Capitalism explains that what people often view as the result of corruption and unethical behavior are symptoms of a distinct system of political economy. The symptoms of political capitalism are often viewed as the result of government intervention in a market economy, or as attributes of a capitalist economy itself. Randall G. Holcombe combines well-established theories in economics and the social sciences to show that political capitalism is not a mixed economy, or government intervention in a market economy, or some intermediate step between capitalism and socialism. After developing the economic theory of political capitalism, Holcombe goes on to explain how changes in political ideology have facilitated the growth of political capitalism, and what can be done to redirect public policy back toward the public interest.