Normative and positive theories of public finance: contrasting Musgrave and Buchanan

Desmarais-Tremblay, Maxime

doi:10.1080/1350178x.2014.939690

Cited by 24 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…[…] [M]y interest in the field has been motivated by a search for the good society, no less than by scientific curiosity. (Musgrave 1959 p. v) 7 5 On Musgrave's use of ideal types, see Desmarais-Tremblay (2014). 6 A similar ambition to take into account public expenditures is found in the contemporary works of De Viti de Marco (1934) and Colm (1936).…”

Section: The Contextmentioning

confidence: 87%

A genealogy of the concept of merit wants

Desmarais-Tremblay¹

2016

The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

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International audienceThis paper proposes a genealogy of the concept of merit wants coined by Richard A. Musgrave in his Theory of Public Finance (1959). The concept of merit wants can only be understood as a complement to the concept of public goods. I suggest that Musgrave invented the concept to apprehend some considerations that have been left out in the process of consolidation of the concept of public good. The narrow definition of the latter could not account for important state responsibilities that have been asserted by many economists.I attempt to reconstruct Musgrave's intellectual background. First, I select examples of arguments for state intervention from authors influential in Musgrave's formative period (J.S. Mill, H. Sidgwick, E. Sax, H. Ritschl, G. Cassel, A. Wagner). Second, I argue that the invention of the concept in the 1950s reflected contemporary concerns for redistributive policies. I show that critics of the New Welfare approach (G. Colm, A. Hansen, W. Heller, H. Bowen) have held similar views, which were also in line with the liberal policy spirit of the post-war era in the United States

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Section: The Contextmentioning

confidence: 87%

A genealogy of the concept of merit wants

Desmarais-Tremblay¹

2016

The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

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“…Similarly, government agencies and organizational departments should implement this strategy. China established a public fiscal system with the core goal of meeting general needs, serving the market economy, and the means of democracy and the rule of law [78] under Chinese characteristics. By transforming from the planned fiscal to the public fiscal strategy, significant changes occurred in China's fiscal functions.…”

Section: Qualitative Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Rule of Law on Government’s Sustainable Economic Management: Evidence from China

Xiao,

Tang,

Obuobi

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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The Chinese government has continuously stressed the Chinese model and its characteristics for national economic governance. As a result, it is worth studying the effect of China’s rule of law on the government’s sustainable economic management, and the rule of law regarding this model can also provide a reference for governing other countries. This paper adopts the multiple linear regression analysis method using time-series data from 2007 to 2017 and from 2002 to 2019. This reflects the rule of law in the government’s sustainable economic management via the impact on government institutions, people’s courts, people’s procuratorates, and social organizations on the economy. The results show that the economic effect of the rule of law on government sustainable economic management is not significant. The rule of law in fiscal revenue and social organizations, rather than being arbitrarily dictated by powerful people, positively affects the economy. This effect was seen only in the 2002–2019 time series, but not in the 2007–2017 time series. Based on these results, it is suggested that China should strengthen the rule of law in managing its courts and procuratorates to enhance their roles in ensuring and accelerating sustainable economic development and regulating government activities. That is, the economic management effect of the public sectors, which indirectly participate in economic governance, is insufficient. This and other insightful policy recommendations are suggested to assist the government and policymakers in more effective and efficient sustainable economic management. Therefore, the system and regulations regarding their governance should not only focus on economic effects but also pay attention to the sustainable effects of economic development.

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“…2 This is of interest not only to historians of economics, but also to scholars and economists generally, as Buchanan's views on the classical tradition provide important philosophical support for the entire neoliberal enterprise, particularly as it relates to public policy, public economics and public choice. As such, his thinking has often been contrasted with that of Richard Musgrave, the leading mainstream Keynesian public finance economist of the 20th century in the US (see, for example, Buchanan and Musgrave, 1999;Farrrant and Paganelli, 2005;Johnson, 2005;Desmarais-Tremblay, 2014). However, it was not Keynesianism that Buchanan identified as the primary competitor of classical liberalism; rather, classical liberalism shares 'the ability to satisfy generalized human yearning for a supra-existent ideal … with its archrival, socialism, which also offers a comprehensive vision that transcends both science and self-interest' (Buchanan, 2000: 113).…”

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confidence: 99%

James M. Buchanan and the Soul of Classical Political Economy

Johnson

2022

Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice

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Boettke and Marciano’s (2020) The Soul of Classical Political Economy curates ten previously unpublished works by James M. Buchanan. The editorial introductions to these are independently valuable as scholarly works; they shed light on the context in which the papers, essays and letters were written, and draw important connections across Buchanan’s different writings. In this review essay, I consider Buchanan on classical liberalism, Knut Wicksell and the role of the economist in light of these newly available writings. The book and review essay should prove of interest not only to historians of economics, but also to scholars and economists generally, as Buchanan’s views on the classical tradition provide important philosophical support for the entire neoliberal enterprise, particularly as it relates to public policy, public economics and public choice.

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Normative and positive theories of public finance: contrasting Musgrave and Buchanan

Cited by 24 publications

References 41 publications

A genealogy of the concept of merit wants

A genealogy of the concept of merit wants

The Influence of Rule of Law on Government’s Sustainable Economic Management: Evidence from China

James M. Buchanan and the Soul of Classical Political Economy

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