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.

Economic Models and Methodology (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)

Business & Money

Holcombe, Randall G.

Economics

Praeger

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.

Public Policy and the Quality of Life: Market Incentives versus Government Planning (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)

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.

Growth and Variability in State Tax Revenue: An Anatomy of State Fiscal Crises (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)

Sobel, Russell S.

Public Finance: Government Revenues and Expenditures in the United States Economy

West Group

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.

The Economic Foundations of Government

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

At the nation's founding, the fundamental principle underlying American government was liberty, and the nation's new government was designed to protect the rights of individuals. The American founders intended to design a government that would protect the rights of its citizens, and at that time the most serious threat to people's rights was government. Thus, the United States government was designed with a constitutionally limited scope to preserve the rights of individuals and limit the powers of government. The government's activities during two world wars and the Great Depression greatly increased its involvement in people's economic affairs, and by the time of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, the transformation was complete. By the end of the twentieth century, the fundamental principle underlying American government had been transformed to democracy, and public policy was designed to further the will of the majority. The result has been a government that is larger and broader in scope. From Liberty to Democracy examines American political history using the framework of public choice theory to show how American government grew more democratic, and how this resulted in an increase in the size and scope of government. It should appeal to historians, political scientists, and economists who are interested in the evolution of American government but does not assume any specialized training and can be read by anyone interested in American political history. Randall G. Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics, Florida State University

From Liberty to Democracy: The Transformation of American Government (Economics, Cognition, And Society)

University of Michigan Press

Public Sector Economics

Wadsworth Pub. Co.

Writing Off Ideas: Taxation, Philanthropy and America's Non-profit Foundations (Independent Studies in Political Economy)

Tax-exempt foundations grew substantially in the twentieth century, both in their financial importance and in the scope of their activities. This challenging book examines the economic, cultural, and intellectual implications of tax-exempt organizations. How do various tax laws influence foundations and what types of ideas do foundations produce? How do the activities of foundations relate to the interests and intentions of their founders? Does the economic management of foundation assets serve the public good, or would such assets be better employed through the private sector? Writing Off Ideas examines these and related questions primarily by looking at specific examples as well as the overall impact of foundation practices economically and socially.

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

Routledge

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.

NYU Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Holcombe, Randall G.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Holcombe, Randall G.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Holcombe, Randall G.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Economic Models and Methodology (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)

Public Policy and the Quality of Life: Market Incentives versus Government Planning (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)

Growth and Variability in State Tax Revenue: An Anatomy of State Fiscal Crises (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)

Public Finance: Government Revenues and Expenditures in the United States Economy

The Economic Foundations of Government

From Liberty to Democracy: The Transformation of American Government (Economics, Cognition, And Society)

Public Sector Economics

Writing Off Ideas: Taxation, Philanthropy and America's Non-profit Foundations (Independent Studies in Political Economy)

Writing Off Ideas: Taxation, Philanthropy and America's Non-profit Foundations (Independent Studies in Political Economy)

The Economic Foundations of Government