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Palgrave Macmillan

Efficiency, Equality and Public Policy

With A Case for Higher Public Spending

  • Book
  • © 2000

Overview

Authors:
  1. Yew-Kwang Ng

    1. Monash University, Australia

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About this book

This book provides compelling arguments for the exclusive concern with efficiency ('a dollar is a dollar') in all specific areas of public economic policy, leaving the objective of equality to be achieved through the general tax/transfer system. Public policies should ultimately maximize the sum of individual welfares which should be individual happiness rather than preferences. Relative-income and environmental disruption effects cause a bias in favour of private spending which is no longer conducive to happiness socially. Welfare can be increased more by higher public spending on research and environmental protection, including the perfection of the techniques of brain stimulation to increase happiness.

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Introduction

    1. Introduction

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 1-11

  3. The Foundation of Public Economic Policy

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13
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    2. The Necessity of Interpersonal Cardinal Utility

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 15-23

    3. Welfarism

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 24-35

    4. Utility, Informed Preference, or Happiness

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 36-56

    5. Utilitarianism

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 57-81

    6. A Dollar is a Dollar: Solution to the Paradox of Interpersonal Cardinal Utility

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 82-98

    7. Economics versus Politics

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 99-102

  4. How Much Should the Government Spend?

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 103-103
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    2. A Case for Higher Public Spending

      • Yew-Kwang Ng, Siang Ng
      Pages 105-123

    3. The Appropriate Benefit-Cost Ratio for Public Spending

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 124-134

    4. Concluding Remarks

      • Yew-Kwang Ng
      Pages 135-136

  5. Back Matter

    Pages 137-189
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Authors and Affiliations

  • Monash University, Australia

    Yew-Kwang Ng

About the author

YEW-KWANG NG holds a personal chair in economics at Monash University and is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. His main publications include Welfare Economics (1979), Mesoeconomics: A Micro-Macro Analysis (1986), Social Welfare and Economic Policy (1990), Specialization and Economic Organization (1993, with X.Yang), `Towards Welfare Biology', Biology and Philosophy (1995), and Increasing Returns and Economic Analysis (1998, with K.Arrow and X.Yang).

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