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Development Policy as Public Finance

Author

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  • Bell, Clive

    (Professor of Economics, Heidelberg University)

Abstract

This book is written out of a conviction that development economics needs to draw more heavily and systematically on recent advances in knowledge made in public economics, especially where the formulation and analysis of development policy are concerned. The central questions - how to raise and spend revenues well, in the sense of promoting development - are surely normative; but whether something is done 'well' must also be judged in relation to what is actually feasible. With unrestricted lump-sum transfers ruled out in practice, the design of policy is inherently concerned with considerations of the second-best. This awkward fact besets the analysis of interventions in all areas of economic activity, from international trade to small-scale finance. Debates over whether and how to promote particular sectors or activities at the expense of others, when viewed from this perspective, draw attention away from the humdrum, but decidedly more important goal of raising revenue efficiently and with due regard for equity. This stricture applies to international trade, industry, and agriculture, as well as to the familiar choice among different forms of taxes, seigniorage, and debt. At the same time, all proposals to spend public funds, introduce or change regulations, and reform policy should be subjected to a rigorous and uniform system of appraisal, especially when there is a substantial premium on public funds. The methods of social cost-benefit analysis, based on shadow prices, provide just the apparatus that is needed for this purpose. This apparatus and its many applications are developed at length, in the hope of promoting its use as a matter of course. Development Policy as Public Finance will be of interest to graduate students, academics, and advanced undergraduates in economics, development studies, and political science; government agencies and NGOs.

Suggested Citation

  • Bell, Clive, 2003. "Development Policy as Public Finance," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198773672, Decembrie.
  • Handle: RePEc:oxp:obooks:9780198773672
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Clive Bell, 2017. "Shadow prices for a small open economy under uncertainty: Which expected values are valid," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-112, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Parantap Basu & Tooraj Jamasb, 2019. "On Green Growth with Sustainable Capital," Working Papers 2019_06, Durham University Business School.
    3. Gersbach, Hans & Siemers, Lars-H. R., 2010. "Land Reforms And Economic Development," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 527-547, September.
    4. Hans Gersbach & Hans Haller, 2018. "Hierarchical Trade," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1165-1184, April.
    5. Clive Bell, 2017. "Shadow prices for a small open economy under uncertainty: Which expected values are valid," WIDER Working Paper Series 112, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Elhorst, J. Paul & Oosterhaven, Jan, 2008. "Integral Cost-Benefit Analysis of Maglev Rail Projects Under Market Imperfections," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 1(1), pages 65-87.

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