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"In all highly industrialized countries public expenditures are a substantial and growing share of total economic activity. The authors integrate normative and positive theory and empirical analysis of public expenditure, concentrating on the optimal provision of public goods and the estimation of their costs and effects. This volume emphasizes the techniques that are available for reaching collective decisions about the provision of public goods and stresses the importance of income distribution and intergovernmental fiscal relations. In a mixed economy, where the public sector is growing faster than the private sector, the nature of public expenditures must be closely evaluated and studied. This book is designed to focus on and delineate controversies about public expenditure--to define what it is, analyze its function, show how it operates, and finally to evaluate research on this important subject. The book considers the theories of leading economists (Kenneth Arrow, Lionel Robbins, Carl Shoup, James Buchanan, Paul Samuelson, Richard Musgrave, and others) in arriving at a clear statement of theory in its application to operational problems. Appropriate attention is paid to current techniques such as program budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, and the analysis of the determinants of public expenditure. The book is unique in its emphasis on the integration and critique of contemporary theories of public expenditure, of distributional concerns, and of the political framework of public expenditure decisions. It provides a necessary resource for professional economists required to deal with public expenditure problems in research or practice."--Provided by publisher.

Cover -- Half Title -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1. The Nature of the Public Sector -- 2. The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure: Partial Equilibrium -- 3. The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure: General Equilibrium -- 4. Market Failure, Public Policy, and Public Expenditure -- 5. The Politics of Collective Choice -- 6. Program Budgeting -- 7. Benefit-Cost Analysis -- 8. Fiscal Federalism -- 9. Determinants and Consequences of Public Expenditures -- Name Index -- Subject Index

For various reasons-whether philosophical, political, humanitarian, or by institutional mandate-people are concerned for the well being of the most vulnerable groups in society: women, the poor, and the elderly. Some would even measure the value of a political system by how well it cares for the least of its members. Related to this is the orientation of government toward the public more generally and the extent that it listens and responds to its citizens. More specifically, it is the rules and norms-the institutional framework-of government through which it takes into account the preferences

This is the first full scale World Bank Public Expenditure Review (PER) for Armenia. The primary objective of the Report was to review the main fiscal trends in Armenia for the period of 1997-2001 and develop recommendations with respect to further fiscal adjustment, expenditure prioritization, and budget consolidation. The report has the following structure. Chapter 1 reviews the main features of the Government's fiscal adjustment effort, initiated in the mid 90-s. It is focused on the analysis of aggregated indicators of fiscal performance such as deficit, public debt, budget arrears, and tax revenues. Chapter 2 looks at the main expenditure trends in the Armenia consolidated budget for 1997-2001 and makes an assessment of the quality and depth of expenditure restructuring undertaken in this period. Chapter 3 looks at the public sector's activities that remain non-reflected in the regular Government budget, which includes extra- budgetary funds, in-kind external grants, subsidies provided by the state-owned companies in the energy and utility sectors, and operations of the Social Insurance Fund. Chapter 4 presents in-depth analysis of progress made to date in the area of expenditure management and suggests a draft medium-term action plan to address identified weaknesses in budget preparation, presentation, execution, and reporting. Annexes 1 and 2 reflect more specific recommendations with respect to upgrading budget management procedures and the regulatory framework. Chapters 5-7 review expenditure policies in the main social sectors (health, education, social protection and insurance) and provide recommendations on: (i) how current expenditures could be made more efficient; (ii) what should be the main direction for intra-sectoral expenditure reallocation; and (iii) what should be medium-term targets for an increase in public expenditures in these sectors. Chapter 8 estimates a minimum level of budget support in core public infrastructure, which would stop deterioration of existing core assets in respective ...