George Klosko
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199256204
- eISBN:
- 9780191602351
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256209.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In arguing for the need for the state, this chapter establishes factual parameters within which discussions of political obligations should be conducted. Certain theorists argue that political ...
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In arguing for the need for the state, this chapter establishes factual parameters within which discussions of political obligations should be conducted. Certain theorists argue that political obligations are not necessary, that various non-state organizations could fulfil the functions commonly assigned to states. However, these theorists do not satisfactorily address questions concerning the provision of essential public goods. Through detailed analysis of numerous alternative mechanisms, libertarian, free-market solutions are found to be unable to provide all necessary public goods. Similarly, technical solutions to N-person prisoner's dilemma are unsuccessful, because of the special conditions they require. Non-state mechanisms, such as the protective associations familiar from Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia, are found to be unable to provide essential public goods, while the same is true of proposals based on a distinction between authority and legitimacy.Less
In arguing for the need for the state, this chapter establishes factual parameters within which discussions of political obligations should be conducted. Certain theorists argue that political obligations are not necessary, that various non-state organizations could fulfil the functions commonly assigned to states. However, these theorists do not satisfactorily address questions concerning the provision of essential public goods. Through detailed analysis of numerous alternative mechanisms, libertarian, free-market solutions are found to be unable to provide all necessary public goods. Similarly, technical solutions to N-person prisoner's dilemma are unsuccessful, because of the special conditions they require. Non-state mechanisms, such as the protective associations familiar from Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia, are found to be unable to provide essential public goods, while the same is true of proposals based on a distinction between authority and legitimacy.
Brett M. Frischmann
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199895656
- eISBN:
- 9780199933280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199895656.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter provides a detailed discussion of microeconomic concepts that serve as building blocks for the demand-side analysis developed in Part II and applied in Parts III and IV. The concepts are ...
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This chapter provides a detailed discussion of microeconomic concepts that serve as building blocks for the demand-side analysis developed in Part II and applied in Parts III and IV. The concepts are important to understanding the value of infrastructure and evaluating and improving resource management. Specifically, the following microeconomic concepts are discussed: public and private goods: (non)rivalry and (non)excludability; consumption goods and capital goods; externalities: incomplete and missing markets; and social goods: nonmarket goods, merit goods, social capital, and irreducibly social goods. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of speech. While not a building block, the speech example usefully illustrates how some of the microeconomic concepts relate to one another.Less
This chapter provides a detailed discussion of microeconomic concepts that serve as building blocks for the demand-side analysis developed in Part II and applied in Parts III and IV. The concepts are important to understanding the value of infrastructure and evaluating and improving resource management. Specifically, the following microeconomic concepts are discussed: public and private goods: (non)rivalry and (non)excludability; consumption goods and capital goods; externalities: incomplete and missing markets; and social goods: nonmarket goods, merit goods, social capital, and irreducibly social goods. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of speech. While not a building block, the speech example usefully illustrates how some of the microeconomic concepts relate to one another.
Chris Jones
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199281978
- eISBN:
- 9780191602535
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199281971.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Important results in the applied welfare literature are used to extend a conventional Harberger cost-benefit analysis. A conventional welfare equation is obtained for marginal policy changes in a ...
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Important results in the applied welfare literature are used to extend a conventional Harberger cost-benefit analysis. A conventional welfare equation is obtained for marginal policy changes in a general equilibrium economy with tax distortions. It is extended to accommodate internationally traded goods, time, income taxes, and non-tax distortions, including externalities, non-competitive behaviour, public goods, and price-quantity controls. The welfare analysis is developed in stages, and where possible is explained using diagrams, to make it more amenable to the different institutional arrangements encountered in applied work. Computable welfare expressions are solved using demand-supply elasticities. In a conventional cost-benefit analysis, lump sum transfers are used to separate the welfare effects of individual policy variables. This is important because it allows policy evaluation to be divided across specialist agencies. These transfers are carefully examined to identify the important role played by the marginal social cost of public funds (MCF) in policy evaluation when governments balance their budgets with distorting taxes. This book separates income effects for marginal policy changes in the shadow value of government revenue. As a scaling coefficient that converts efficiency effects into dollar changes in private surplus, it makes income effects irrelevant in single (aggregated) consumer economies, and conveniently isolates distributional effects in heterogeneous consumer economies. This decomposition is used to test for Pareto improvements, and to examine the separate, but related roles of the shadow value of government revenue and the MCF in applied work.Less
Important results in the applied welfare literature are used to extend a conventional Harberger cost-benefit analysis. A conventional welfare equation is obtained for marginal policy changes in a general equilibrium economy with tax distortions. It is extended to accommodate internationally traded goods, time, income taxes, and non-tax distortions, including externalities, non-competitive behaviour, public goods, and price-quantity controls. The welfare analysis is developed in stages, and where possible is explained using diagrams, to make it more amenable to the different institutional arrangements encountered in applied work. Computable welfare expressions are solved using demand-supply elasticities. In a conventional cost-benefit analysis, lump sum transfers are used to separate the welfare effects of individual policy variables. This is important because it allows policy evaluation to be divided across specialist agencies. These transfers are carefully examined to identify the important role played by the marginal social cost of public funds (MCF) in policy evaluation when governments balance their budgets with distorting taxes. This book separates income effects for marginal policy changes in the shadow value of government revenue. As a scaling coefficient that converts efficiency effects into dollar changes in private surplus, it makes income effects irrelevant in single (aggregated) consumer economies, and conveniently isolates distributional effects in heterogeneous consumer economies. This decomposition is used to test for Pareto improvements, and to examine the separate, but related roles of the shadow value of government revenue and the MCF in applied work.
Inge Kaul (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195157406
- eISBN:
- 9780199832965
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157400.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
The national economic concept of ‘public goods’ has its transnational analogue, which provides a signpost to the effective management of globalization processes. The pursuit of global public goods, ...
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The national economic concept of ‘public goods’ has its transnational analogue, which provides a signpost to the effective management of globalization processes. The pursuit of global public goods, along with the prevention of global public bads, will assist the attainment of a more equitable, and hence a more stable, world order, and should be seen as a vital complement to economic development aid.Less
The national economic concept of ‘public goods’ has its transnational analogue, which provides a signpost to the effective management of globalization processes. The pursuit of global public goods, along with the prevention of global public bads, will assist the attainment of a more equitable, and hence a more stable, world order, and should be seen as a vital complement to economic development aid.
Inge Kaul, Isabelle Grunberg, and Marc Stern (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130522
- eISBN:
- 9780199867363
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130529.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This collection of papers offers a new rationale and framework for international development cooperation. Its main argument is that in actual practice development cooperation has already moved beyond ...
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This collection of papers offers a new rationale and framework for international development cooperation. Its main argument is that in actual practice development cooperation has already moved beyond aid. In the name of aid (i.e., assistance to poor countries), we are today dealing with issues such as the ozone hole, global climate change, HIV, drug trafficking, and financial volatility. All of these issues are not really poverty related. Rather, they concern global housekeeping: ensuring an adequate provision of global public goods. Many important lessons could be drawn by first recognizing this fact – revealing innovative reforms toward more effective international policy making in the twenty‐first century.Less
This collection of papers offers a new rationale and framework for international development cooperation. Its main argument is that in actual practice development cooperation has already moved beyond aid. In the name of aid (i.e., assistance to poor countries), we are today dealing with issues such as the ozone hole, global climate change, HIV, drug trafficking, and financial volatility. All of these issues are not really poverty related. Rather, they concern global housekeeping: ensuring an adequate provision of global public goods. Many important lessons could be drawn by first recognizing this fact – revealing innovative reforms toward more effective international policy making in the twenty‐first century.
J. Mohan Rao, Ethan B. Kapstein, and Amartya Sen
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130522
- eISBN:
- 9780199867363
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130529.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Economic and cultural globalization seem to have ushered in an awkward and potentially unstable period of transition for the world. Even if one supposes that free trade and unrestricted capital ...
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Economic and cultural globalization seem to have ushered in an awkward and potentially unstable period of transition for the world. Even if one supposes that free trade and unrestricted capital mobility can eventually result in global factor price equalization and international equality, the transition may take decades if not centuries. At stake are questions of how to distribute the costs incurred, and the benefits to be derived, by cooperative action to create global public goods or minimize global public bads. Questions of equity are also implicated in the origin of the global problems themselves. International negotiations are influenced by unequal economic and bargaining strengths and the diverse stages of development at which nations find themselves.The basic argument of this chapter is that equity and distributional criteria must be at the core of a global public goods framework for international cooperation. There are several reasons behind this. First, equity and justice promote cooperative behavior, itself needed for the provision of public goods. Second, when the system is perceived to be fair and equitable, nations will participate in it willingly. Third, global equity is itself a public good that, without cooperation or coercion (i.e., in a decentralized setting), may be undersupplied. The undersupply may be because, e.g., there is no private market through which nations or individuals may meet their need to give.Thus, the first section of this chapter sets the stage by outlining the continuing role of inequality among nations in shaping the world. The second section considers the potential instrumental value of social cohesion in public goods supply (equity for public goods). After that, the chapter considers how distributional factors affect the demand and supply of public goods. Then, it pursues the proposition (originally from Thurow, 1971) that the distribution of income is itself a public good. The final section offers conclusions. The rest of the chapter illustrates the value of equity for the production of public goods, in the distribution of public goods, and as a public good itself.Less
Economic and cultural globalization seem to have ushered in an awkward and potentially unstable period of transition for the world. Even if one supposes that free trade and unrestricted capital mobility can eventually result in global factor price equalization and international equality, the transition may take decades if not centuries. At stake are questions of how to distribute the costs incurred, and the benefits to be derived, by cooperative action to create global public goods or minimize global public bads. Questions of equity are also implicated in the origin of the global problems themselves. International negotiations are influenced by unequal economic and bargaining strengths and the diverse stages of development at which nations find themselves.
The basic argument of this chapter is that equity and distributional criteria must be at the core of a global public goods framework for international cooperation. There are several reasons behind this. First, equity and justice promote cooperative behavior, itself needed for the provision of public goods. Second, when the system is perceived to be fair and equitable, nations will participate in it willingly. Third, global equity is itself a public good that, without cooperation or coercion (i.e., in a decentralized setting), may be undersupplied. The undersupply may be because, e.g., there is no private market through which nations or individuals may meet their need to give.
Thus, the first section of this chapter sets the stage by outlining the continuing role of inequality among nations in shaping the world. The second section considers the potential instrumental value of social cohesion in public goods supply (equity for public goods). After that, the chapter considers how distributional factors affect the demand and supply of public goods. Then, it pursues the proposition (originally from Thurow, 1971) that the distribution of income is itself a public good. The final section offers conclusions. The rest of the chapter illustrates the value of equity for the production of public goods, in the distribution of public goods, and as a public good itself.
López Ramón and Michael A. Toman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199298006
- eISBN:
- 9780191603877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199298009.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Empirical studies show extraordinarily high rates of return to investments in human and environmental public goods. This chapter demonstrates empirically, however, that the majority of governments in ...
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Empirical studies show extraordinarily high rates of return to investments in human and environmental public goods. This chapter demonstrates empirically, however, that the majority of governments in developing countries fail to invest sufficiently in public goods such as research and development, human capital, and the management of the environment. Such underinvestment causes a major distortion that partially explains the triple curse of slow growth, large social inequities and poverty, and environmental destruction that has typified most developing countries over recent decades. The chapter examines the contribution of IMF and World Bank supported structural adjustment, such as fiscal deficit reduction, privatization of state enterprises, and trade liberalization, in the light of the above framework. Rather than analyzing how each of the reforms may affect the environment, the chapter focuses on whether structural adjustment is likely to correct the under investment in human capital and environmental capital discussed above, and whether there are specific policies within structural adjustment that are likely to particularly affect such under investment.Less
Empirical studies show extraordinarily high rates of return to investments in human and environmental public goods. This chapter demonstrates empirically, however, that the majority of governments in developing countries fail to invest sufficiently in public goods such as research and development, human capital, and the management of the environment. Such underinvestment causes a major distortion that partially explains the triple curse of slow growth, large social inequities and poverty, and environmental destruction that has typified most developing countries over recent decades. The chapter examines the contribution of IMF and World Bank supported structural adjustment, such as fiscal deficit reduction, privatization of state enterprises, and trade liberalization, in the light of the above framework. Rather than analyzing how each of the reforms may affect the environment, the chapter focuses on whether structural adjustment is likely to correct the under investment in human capital and environmental capital discussed above, and whether there are specific policies within structural adjustment that are likely to particularly affect such under investment.
Brett M. Frischmann
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199895656
- eISBN:
- 9780199933280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199895656.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter examines societal demand for infrastructure resources. It aims to identify and evaluate infrastructural resources functionally from a systems perspective and to understand better how ...
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This chapter examines societal demand for infrastructure resources. It aims to identify and evaluate infrastructural resources functionally from a systems perspective and to understand better how individuals who obtain access to infrastructure resources both realize and create social value. It identifies and examines three economic criteria common to traditional infrastructure, such as transportation systems and telecommunications networks; and nontraditional infrastructure, such as the atmosphere and basic research. It develops a typology of different infrastructure (commercial, public, social, and mixed infrastructure) based on the types of systems dependent on the infrastructural resource and the distribution of productive activities it facilitates. It also discusses how both the resource set delineated by the three criteria and the subsets delineated by the typology are dependent on demand, and how resources may evolve into or out of the set or subsets. Throughout, the chapter explains how different types of demand-side market failures arise when spillovers from public or social goods are prevalent.Less
This chapter examines societal demand for infrastructure resources. It aims to identify and evaluate infrastructural resources functionally from a systems perspective and to understand better how individuals who obtain access to infrastructure resources both realize and create social value. It identifies and examines three economic criteria common to traditional infrastructure, such as transportation systems and telecommunications networks; and nontraditional infrastructure, such as the atmosphere and basic research. It develops a typology of different infrastructure (commercial, public, social, and mixed infrastructure) based on the types of systems dependent on the infrastructural resource and the distribution of productive activities it facilitates. It also discusses how both the resource set delineated by the three criteria and the subsets delineated by the typology are dependent on demand, and how resources may evolve into or out of the set or subsets. Throughout, the chapter explains how different types of demand-side market failures arise when spillovers from public or social goods are prevalent.
Harry Brighouse
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257874
- eISBN:
- 9780191598845
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257876.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Describes the main kinds of school choice: public school choice, charter schools, and school vouchers. It looks at a series of arguments for school choice reforms, including Milton Friedman's ...
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Describes the main kinds of school choice: public school choice, charter schools, and school vouchers. It looks at a series of arguments for school choice reforms, including Milton Friedman's original argument for vouchers, arguments based on parental rights, and arguments based on libertarianism. It examines the public goods based argument for state funding of schools (which Milton Friedman's case for vouchers assumes) and shows why it fails.Less
Describes the main kinds of school choice: public school choice, charter schools, and school vouchers. It looks at a series of arguments for school choice reforms, including Milton Friedman's original argument for vouchers, arguments based on parental rights, and arguments based on libertarianism. It examines the public goods based argument for state funding of schools (which Milton Friedman's case for vouchers assumes) and shows why it fails.
Abdulaziz Sachedina
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195378504
- eISBN:
- 9780199869688
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195378504.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This book undertakes to correlate practical ethical decisions in modern medical practice to principles and rules derived from Islamic juridical praxis and theological doctrines. This study links ...
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This book undertakes to correlate practical ethical decisions in modern medical practice to principles and rules derived from Islamic juridical praxis and theological doctrines. This study links these rulings to the moral principles extracted from the normative religious texts and historically documented precedents. Western scholars of Islamic law have pointed out the importance of the historical approach in determining the rules and the juristic practices that were applied to the cases under consideration before the judicial opinions were issued within a specific social, economic, and political context. These decisions reflected aspects of intellectual as well as social history of the Muslim community engaged in making everyday life conform to the religious values. Ethical decisions are an important part of interpersonal relations in Islamic law. Practical guidance affecting all facets of individual and collective human life, have been provided under the general rules of “Public good” and “No harm, no harassment.” However, no judicial decision that claims to further public good is regarded authoritative without supporting documentation from the foundational sources, like the Qur‘an and the Sunna (the exemplary tradition of the Prophet). Hence, Muslim jurists, in order to infer fresh rulings about matters that were not covered by the existing precedents in the Qur‘an and the Sunna, undertook to develop rational stratagems to enable them to solve problems faced by the community. This intellectual activity led to the systematic formulation of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, which has assumed unprecedented importance in connection with the distinct field of medical ethics in the Islamic world that shares the modern medical technology with the West. The book argues that there are distinct Islamic principles that can serve as sources for Muslim biomedical ethics that can engage in dialogue with both secular and other religiously oriented bioethics in the context of universal medical practice and research.Less
This book undertakes to correlate practical ethical decisions in modern medical practice to principles and rules derived from Islamic juridical praxis and theological doctrines. This study links these rulings to the moral principles extracted from the normative religious texts and historically documented precedents. Western scholars of Islamic law have pointed out the importance of the historical approach in determining the rules and the juristic practices that were applied to the cases under consideration before the judicial opinions were issued within a specific social, economic, and political context. These decisions reflected aspects of intellectual as well as social history of the Muslim community engaged in making everyday life conform to the religious values. Ethical decisions are an important part of interpersonal relations in Islamic law. Practical guidance affecting all facets of individual and collective human life, have been provided under the general rules of “Public good” and “No harm, no harassment.” However, no judicial decision that claims to further public good is regarded authoritative without supporting documentation from the foundational sources, like the Qur‘an and the Sunna (the exemplary tradition of the Prophet). Hence, Muslim jurists, in order to infer fresh rulings about matters that were not covered by the existing precedents in the Qur‘an and the Sunna, undertook to develop rational stratagems to enable them to solve problems faced by the community. This intellectual activity led to the systematic formulation of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, which has assumed unprecedented importance in connection with the distinct field of medical ethics in the Islamic world that shares the modern medical technology with the West. The book argues that there are distinct Islamic principles that can serve as sources for Muslim biomedical ethics that can engage in dialogue with both secular and other religiously oriented bioethics in the context of universal medical practice and research.
George Klosko
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199256204
- eISBN:
- 9780191602351
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256209.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The most powerful objection to political obligations based on the principle of fairness concerns alternative supply of necessary public goods. According to this line of argument, if the subject ...
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The most powerful objection to political obligations based on the principle of fairness concerns alternative supply of necessary public goods. According to this line of argument, if the subject prefers not to receive particular benefits from the state, then he need not incur obligations through their provision. However, as the discussion in Ch. 2 shows, for certain essential public goods, there is no alternative to state provision. Moreover, the fact that a subject prefers that goods be provided in a different form or by a mechanism other than the state is not ordinarily sufficient to dissolve obligations that they would otherwise incur.Less
The most powerful objection to political obligations based on the principle of fairness concerns alternative supply of necessary public goods. According to this line of argument, if the subject prefers not to receive particular benefits from the state, then he need not incur obligations through their provision. However, as the discussion in Ch. 2 shows, for certain essential public goods, there is no alternative to state provision. Moreover, the fact that a subject prefers that goods be provided in a different form or by a mechanism other than the state is not ordinarily sufficient to dissolve obligations that they would otherwise incur.
López Ramón and Michael A. Toman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199298006
- eISBN:
- 9780191603877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199298009.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The failure of public good provision in developing countries implies that many environmental and natural resource allocation problems that have been solved in developed countries, such as water ...
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The failure of public good provision in developing countries implies that many environmental and natural resource allocation problems that have been solved in developed countries, such as water pollution from sewage and indoor air pollution from cooking fires, continue to loom large. Decentralization and transparency in decision making, due process, and stakeholder participation in reform are needed to address these shortfalls. Because of poverty, efficiency is crucial to minimize overall costs. This, together with the wide dispersion in the distribution of pollution between polluters, speaks in favor of the use of flexible instruments such as information and market based mechanisms. At the same time, risk aversion, poverty, and unequal distribution imply that considerable attention must be paid to the distribution of costs and to a participatory approach in policy design.Less
The failure of public good provision in developing countries implies that many environmental and natural resource allocation problems that have been solved in developed countries, such as water pollution from sewage and indoor air pollution from cooking fires, continue to loom large. Decentralization and transparency in decision making, due process, and stakeholder participation in reform are needed to address these shortfalls. Because of poverty, efficiency is crucial to minimize overall costs. This, together with the wide dispersion in the distribution of pollution between polluters, speaks in favor of the use of flexible instruments such as information and market based mechanisms. At the same time, risk aversion, poverty, and unequal distribution imply that considerable attention must be paid to the distribution of costs and to a participatory approach in policy design.
Scott Barrett
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199211890
- eISBN:
- 9780191695827
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199211890.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them ...
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Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them could have disastrous consequences. How do we engineer institutions to change incentives so that these global public goods are provided? This book provides an introduction to the issues surrounding the provision of global public goods. Using a variety of examples to illustrate past successes and failures, the book shows how international cooperation, institutional design, and the clever use of incentives can work together to ensure the effective delivery of global public goods.Less
Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of a global pandemic have the potential to impact each of our lives. Preventing these threats poses a serious global challenge, but ignoring them could have disastrous consequences. How do we engineer institutions to change incentives so that these global public goods are provided? This book provides an introduction to the issues surrounding the provision of global public goods. Using a variety of examples to illustrate past successes and failures, the book shows how international cooperation, institutional design, and the clever use of incentives can work together to ensure the effective delivery of global public goods.
Inge Kaul and Ronald U. Mendoza
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195157406
- eISBN:
- 9780199832965
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157400.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Examines the implications of translating the concept of public goods, originally developed in the setting of a domestic national economy, to that of global public goods set within a transnational ...
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Examines the implications of translating the concept of public goods, originally developed in the setting of a domestic national economy, to that of global public goods set within a transnational global economy. This requires important adjustments to the concepts of ‘triangle of publicness’ (publicness of consumption, of benefits, and of decision‐making), as well as new typologies of public goods.Less
Examines the implications of translating the concept of public goods, originally developed in the setting of a domestic national economy, to that of global public goods set within a transnational global economy. This requires important adjustments to the concepts of ‘triangle of publicness’ (publicness of consumption, of benefits, and of decision‐making), as well as new typologies of public goods.
George Klosko
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199256204
- eISBN:
- 9780191602351
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256209.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
With theories of political obligation based on consent now generally discredited because most people have not actually consented, certain theorists attempt to rescue consent by proposing mechanisms ...
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With theories of political obligation based on consent now generally discredited because most people have not actually consented, certain theorists attempt to rescue consent by proposing mechanisms through which individuals could consent to government. Various mechanisms are examined, including ‘consent-or-leave’ and Michael Walzer's proposal that citizens who refuse to consent be allowed a lesser status, analogous to that of ‘resident aliens at home’. All these mechanisms confront insuperable difficulties concerning essential public goods. Because resident aliens at home will continue to receive public goods, the alternatives are that they be allowed to receive them cost-free or that they incur obligations, even though they explicitly refused to consent.Less
With theories of political obligation based on consent now generally discredited because most people have not actually consented, certain theorists attempt to rescue consent by proposing mechanisms through which individuals could consent to government. Various mechanisms are examined, including ‘consent-or-leave’ and Michael Walzer's proposal that citizens who refuse to consent be allowed a lesser status, analogous to that of ‘resident aliens at home’. All these mechanisms confront insuperable difficulties concerning essential public goods. Because resident aliens at home will continue to receive public goods, the alternatives are that they be allowed to receive them cost-free or that they incur obligations, even though they explicitly refused to consent.
David A. Hamburg, Jane E. Holl, and Ruben P. Mendez
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130522
- eISBN:
- 9780199867363
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130529.003.0018
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
In the literature of public economics, defense has traditionally been held up as a pure public good in the domestic sphere. But there are problems with this formalistic approach, even more so at the ...
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In the literature of public economics, defense has traditionally been held up as a pure public good in the domestic sphere. But there are problems with this formalistic approach, even more so at the international level. In contrast, peace meets the substantive (i.e., welfare) as well as formal criteria of a public good. The chapter focuses on the political and institutional aspects of peace, and the structures required at the level of the international system. Reviewing the historical record as well as the situation since the end of the Cold War, Mendez contrasts three models of international order: collective security, balance of power and hegemony. He argues that only collective security fully takes into account the public good nature of international peace, and that such a system is the most effective in the long run. International organizations such as the U.N. and regional bodies have key roles to play in such a system.Less
In the literature of public economics, defense has traditionally been held up as a pure public good in the domestic sphere. But there are problems with this formalistic approach, even more so at the international level. In contrast, peace meets the substantive (i.e., welfare) as well as formal criteria of a public good. The chapter focuses on the political and institutional aspects of peace, and the structures required at the level of the international system. Reviewing the historical record as well as the situation since the end of the Cold War, Mendez contrasts three models of international order: collective security, balance of power and hegemony. He argues that only collective security fully takes into account the public good nature of international peace, and that such a system is the most effective in the long run. International organizations such as the U.N. and regional bodies have key roles to play in such a system.
Raymond Plant
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199281756
- eISBN:
- 9780191713040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281756.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
A central theme of this chapter is the role of monetary theory within the neo‐liberal account of the role of the state. For a neo‐liberal thinker such as Mises, monetary theory consists of a set of a ...
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A central theme of this chapter is the role of monetary theory within the neo‐liberal account of the role of the state. For a neo‐liberal thinker such as Mises, monetary theory consists of a set of a priori truths derived from the concept of money itself. Thus, the quantity of money theory or monetarism is not one hypothesis among others within economics, but has a more profound status and basis than that. Such a monetary theory when allied to the points made in the first part of Chapter 8 along with other economic theories (such as crowding out and neo‐liberal microeconomic theories) undermine in a fundamental way Keynesian ideas. Such ideas have been central to Social Democracy and again therefore such a critique of Keynes is an attempt to undermine a basic means of arriving at social democratic ends such as social justice which have already been the subject of critical analysis. One central role for the state from a neo‐liberal view is the provision of public goods that is to say goods which rely on cooperation to produce but which cannot be partitioned so that only those who cooperate in their production can benefit (clean air would be an example). The market will not produce such goods because each individual has a strong incentive from a rational utility maximizing point of view not to contribute and they will therefore not be produced. The details of this argument are considered and analysed.Less
A central theme of this chapter is the role of monetary theory within the neo‐liberal account of the role of the state. For a neo‐liberal thinker such as Mises, monetary theory consists of a set of a priori truths derived from the concept of money itself. Thus, the quantity of money theory or monetarism is not one hypothesis among others within economics, but has a more profound status and basis than that. Such a monetary theory when allied to the points made in the first part of Chapter 8 along with other economic theories (such as crowding out and neo‐liberal microeconomic theories) undermine in a fundamental way Keynesian ideas. Such ideas have been central to Social Democracy and again therefore such a critique of Keynes is an attempt to undermine a basic means of arriving at social democratic ends such as social justice which have already been the subject of critical analysis. One central role for the state from a neo‐liberal view is the provision of public goods that is to say goods which rely on cooperation to produce but which cannot be partitioned so that only those who cooperate in their production can benefit (clean air would be an example). The market will not produce such goods because each individual has a strong incentive from a rational utility maximizing point of view not to contribute and they will therefore not be produced. The details of this argument are considered and analysed.
Randy E. Barnett
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297291
- eISBN:
- 9780191598777
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297297.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The incentive problem concerns ensuring that persons have an adequate incentive to make choices reflecting the knowledge to which they have access and to discover new information. This problem is ...
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The incentive problem concerns ensuring that persons have an adequate incentive to make choices reflecting the knowledge to which they have access and to discover new information. This problem is addressed by the rights of first possession, freedom from contract, and freedom to contract. The rule of law also addresses the incentive problem by providing a set of legal precepts that do not change too frequently and can therefore be relied upon. To preserve the incentives created by justice and the rule of law, takings must be compensated by requiring the perpetrator of the transfer to make restitution to the victim. The incentive problem created by public goods is less serious than some suppose and free riding can usually be addressed in a number of ways without the need for nonconsensual rights transfers.Less
The incentive problem concerns ensuring that persons have an adequate incentive to make choices reflecting the knowledge to which they have access and to discover new information. This problem is addressed by the rights of first possession, freedom from contract, and freedom to contract. The rule of law also addresses the incentive problem by providing a set of legal precepts that do not change too frequently and can therefore be relied upon. To preserve the incentives created by justice and the rule of law, takings must be compensated by requiring the perpetrator of the transfer to make restitution to the victim. The incentive problem created by public goods is less serious than some suppose and free riding can usually be addressed in a number of ways without the need for nonconsensual rights transfers.
Inge Kaul and Katell Le Goulven
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195157406
- eISBN:
- 9780199832965
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157400.003.0015
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Explores how policy‐makers have addressed the need for international co‐operation on resource allocation in financing global public goods. It analyses the range of policy tools currently available, ...
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Explores how policy‐makers have addressed the need for international co‐operation on resource allocation in financing global public goods. It analyses the range of policy tools currently available, and suggests ways in which resource allocation methods could be improved in the future.Less
Explores how policy‐makers have addressed the need for international co‐operation on resource allocation in financing global public goods. It analyses the range of policy tools currently available, and suggests ways in which resource allocation methods could be improved in the future.
Wilfred Beckerman and Joanna Pasek
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245086
- eISBN:
- 9780191598784
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245088.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter discusses critically the main criticisms of the use of cost‐benefit analysis in environmental policy, such as the incommensurability of environmental values with the values born by ...
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This chapter discusses critically the main criticisms of the use of cost‐benefit analysis in environmental policy, such as the incommensurability of environmental values with the values born by marketable goods, and the related unreliability of estimates of peoples’ willingness to pay for environmental protection. While it is found that there is some strength in these criticisms, it is still necessary to take account of the resource constraint involved in decisions concerning public goods. Furthermore, a democratic society needs some impartial and transparent process for solving allocation problems. However, the need to reconcile the valid objections made by environmentalists to cost‐benefit analysis with the problems raised by resource constraints raises new problems of political theory and institutions.Less
This chapter discusses critically the main criticisms of the use of cost‐benefit analysis in environmental policy, such as the incommensurability of environmental values with the values born by marketable goods, and the related unreliability of estimates of peoples’ willingness to pay for environmental protection. While it is found that there is some strength in these criticisms, it is still necessary to take account of the resource constraint involved in decisions concerning public goods. Furthermore, a democratic society needs some impartial and transparent process for solving allocation problems. However, the need to reconcile the valid objections made by environmentalists to cost‐benefit analysis with the problems raised by resource constraints raises new problems of political theory and institutions.
