TY  - JOUR
AU  - Besley,Timothy
AU  - Coate,Stephen
TI  - The Public Critique of Welfare Economics:  An Exploration
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 7083
PY  - 1999
Y2  - April 1999
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w7083
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w7083.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Stephen Coate
Department of Economics
Cornell University
Uris Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-7601
Tel: 607/255-1912
Fax: 215/573-2057
E-Mail: sc163@cornell.edu
AB  - The welfare economic method for analyzing the case for government intervention is often criticized for ignoring the political determination of policies. While many economists accept the thrust of this critique, exactly when and how political determination interferes with a welfare economic analysis is not well understood. This paper explores the logic of the critique in a specific context, demonstrating how political determination of policy affects the case for government intervention. We show that one form of intervention is likely to have an impact on others through the political process. These spillover effects may even provide a justification for interventions that the welfare economic approach would reject.
ER  -