IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/del/abcdef/94-25.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Genealogy of Modern Theoretical Public Economics: From first best to second best

Author

Listed:
  • Guesnerie, R.

Abstract

The development of second best modelling in the seventies has shaped modern theoretical public economics. The paper discusses some key changes in the economists' conceptions. The first two sections examine the efficiency- equity dilemma. The study of non convexities has shown that counterintuitive "efficiency enhancing" income redistribution might occur. The introduction of asymmetric information has shed doubts on virtues of lump-sum compensation. The last sections focus on the intricate geometry of second best optimisation and the ambiguous value of the signals provided by the price system outside a first best world.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Guesnerie, R., 1994. "The Genealogy of Modern Theoretical Public Economics: From first best to second best," DELTA Working Papers 94-25, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure).
  • Handle: RePEc:del:abcdef:94-25
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guesnerie, Roger, 1975. "Production of the public sector and taxation in a simple second best model," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 127-156, April.
    2. J. E. Stiglitz & P. Dasgupta, 1971. "Differential Taxation, Public Goods, and Economic Efficiency," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 38(2), pages 151-174.
    3. Fuchs, Gerard & Guesnerie, Roger, 1983. "Structure of Tax Equilibria," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(2), pages 403-434, March.
    4. Andreu Mas-Colell & Xavier Vives, 1993. "Implementation in Economies with a Continuum of Agents," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(3), pages 613-629.
    5. Cornet, Bernard, 1988. "General equilibrium theory and increasing returns : Presentation," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2-3), pages 103-118, April.
    6. Guesnerie, Roger & Jerison, Michael, 1991. "Taxation as a social choice problem : The scope of the Laffer argument," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 37-63, February.
    7. Weymark, John A., 1979. "A reconciliation of recent results in optimal taxation theory," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 171-189, October.
    8. Charles Blackorby, 1990. "Economic Policy in a Second-Best Environment," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 23(4), pages 748-771, November.
    9. Hurwicz, Leonid, 1979. "On allocations attainable through Nash equilibria," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 140-165, August.
    10. Avinash Dixit, 1979. "Price changes and optimum taxation in a many-consumer economy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 143-157, March.
    11. Dreze, Jean & Stern, Nicholas, 1987. "The theory of cost-benefit analysis," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 14, pages 909-989, Elsevier.
    12. Guesnerie, Roger, 1979. "General statements on second best pareto optimality," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 169-194, July.
    13. Donald J. Brown & Geoffrey Heal, 1979. "Equity, Efficiency and Increasing Returns," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 46(4), pages 571-585.
    14. R. G. Lipsey & Kelvin Lancaster, 1956. "The General Theory of Second Best," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 24(1), pages 11-32.
    15. Guesnerie, Roger, 1977. "On the direction of tax reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 179-202, April.
    16. Egbert Dierker, 1986. "When does marginal cost pricing lead to Pareto efficiency?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 41-66, December.
    17. P. Diamond & J. Mirrlees, 1976. "Private Constant Returns and Public Shadow Prices," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 43(1), pages 41-47.
    18. Paulina Beato, 1982. "The Existence of Marginal Cost Pricing Equilibria with Increasing Returns," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(4), pages 669-688.
    19. Guesnerie, Roger & Roberts, Kevin, 1987. "Minimum wage legislation as a second best policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-2), pages 490-498.
    20. Kevin Roberts, 1984. "The Theoretical Limits to Redistribution," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 51(2), pages 177-195.
    21. Dixit, Avinash, 1975. "Welfare effects of tax and price changes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 103-123, February.
    22. Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole, 1993. "A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121743, April.
    23. Sah, Raaj Kumar, 1983. "How much redistribution is possible through commodity taxes?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 89-101, February.
    24. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert Vishny, 1989. "Income Distribution, Market Size, and Industrialization," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(3), pages 537-564.
    25. Dierker, Egbert, 1991. "The Optimality of Boiteux-Ramsey Pricing," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 59(1), pages 99-121, January.
    26. Fogelman, Francoise & Quinzii, Martine & Guesnerie, Roger, 1978. "Dynamic processes for tax reform theory," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 200-226, April.
    27. Peter J. Hammond, 1979. "Straightforward Individual Incentive Compatibility in Large Economies," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 46(2), pages 263-282.
    28. Heady, Christopher J. & Mitra, Pradeep K., 1982. "Restricted redistributive taxation, shadow prices and trade policy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-22, February.
    29. Guesnerie, Roger, 1975. "Pareto Optimality in Non-Convex Economies," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 43(1), pages 1-29, January.
    30. Beato, Paulina & Mas-Colell, Andreu, 1985. "On marginal cost pricing with given tax-subsidy rules," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 356-365, December.
    31. Egbert Dierker & Hans Haller, 1990. "Tax systems and direct mechanisms in large finite economies," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 99-116, June.
    32. Champsaur, Paul & Laroque, Guy, 1981. "Fair allocations in large economies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 269-282, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marcus Berliant & John O. Ledyard, 2014. "Optimal Dynamic Nonlinear Income Taxes with No Commitment," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(2), pages 196-221, April.
    2. Carmona, Miguel, 2010. "The regulatory function in public-private partnerships for the provision of transport infrastructure," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 110-125.
    3. Jean Charles Hourcade & Franck Lecocq, 2003. "Equitable Provision of Long-Term Public GoodsThe role of Negotiation Mandates," CIRED Working Papers halshs-00000968, HAL.
    4. David, Laurent & Le Breton, Michel & Merillon, Olivier, 2007. "Kolm as a Contributor to Public Utility Pricing, Second Best Culture and the Theory of Regulation," IDEI Working Papers 490, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    5. Rodrigo Nobre Fernandez & André Carraro & Gabrielito Menezes & Giácomo Balbinotto Neto & Eduardo Tillmann, 2014. "Design Contract For Public-Privatepartnerships: A Theoretical Model For Brazilian Hospitals," Anais do XL Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 40th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 062, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    6. Peaucelle, Irina, 2002. "Capital social et anthroponomie," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 0204, CEPREMAP.
    7. Berliant, Marcus & Gouveia, Miguel, 2022. "On the Political Economy of Nonlinear Income Taxation," MPRA Paper 113140, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Zsolt Becsi, 1999. "Heterogeneity and the welfare cost of dynamic factor taxes," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 99-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    9. Edoardo Marcucci, 1999. "Road Pricing: Old Beliefs, Present Awareness and Future Research Patterns," Working Papers 1999.4, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Boadway, Robin, 1999. "Le rôle de la théorie de l’optimum du second rang en économie publique," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 75(1), pages 29-65, mars-juin.
    2. David, Laurent & Le Breton, Michel & Merillon, Olivier, 2007. "Kolm as a Contributor to Public Utility Pricing, Second Best Culture and the Theory of Regulation," IDEI Working Papers 490, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    3. Murty, Sushama, 2010. "Externalities and fundamental nonconvexities: A reconciliation of approaches to general equilibrium externality modeling and implications for decentralization," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 145(1), pages 331-353, January.
    4. Paul Oslington, 2012. "General Equilibrium: Theory and Evidence," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(282), pages 446-448, September.
    5. Alan Krause, 2004. "The Dynamic Process of Tax Reform," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 119, Econometric Society.
    6. Antonio Villar, 1994. "Existence and efficiency of equilibrium in economics with increasing returns to scale: an exposition," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 18(2), pages 205-243, May.
    7. W D A Bryant, 2009. "General Equilibrium:Theory and Evidence," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number 6875, September.
    8. Brown, Donald J. & Heller, Walter P. & Starr, Ross M., 1992. "Two-part marginal cost pricing equilibria: Existence and efficiency," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 52-72.
    9. David Coady & Jean Dreze, 2000. "Commodity Taxation and Social Welfare: The Generalised Ramsey Rule," Working papers 87, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    10. Guesnerie Roger, 1975. "On second best pareto optimality : an abstract approach for a synthesis," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 7507, CEPREMAP.
    11. Guy Gilbert, 1982. "Economie de la réforme fiscale et systèmes fiscaux comparés : une revue de littérature," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 33(4), pages 750-768.
    12. Cordoba, Jose M. & Hammond, Peter J., 1998. "Asymptotically strategy-proof Walrasian exchange," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 185-212, December.
    13. Tirole Jean & Guesnerie Roger, 1979. "Gradient projection algorithms for problems in public finance : a note," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 7907, CEPREMAP.
    14. Konishi, Hideo, 1995. "A Pareto-improving commodity tax reform under a smooth nonlinear income tax," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 413-446, March.
    15. David Coady & Jean Drèze, 2000. "Commodity Taxation and Social Welfare: The Generalised Ramsey Rule," STICERD - Development Economics Papers - From 2008 this series has been superseded by Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers 27, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    16. Coady, David & Dreze, Jean, 2000. "Commodity taxation and social welfare: the generalised Ramsey rule," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6651, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. David Coady & Jean Drèze, 2002. "Commodity Taxation and Social Welfare: The Generalized Ramsey Rule," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 9(3), pages 295-316, May.
    18. Ahmad, Ehtisham & Stern, Nicholas, 1983. "Tax Reform, Pareto Improvements, And The Inverse Optimum," Discussion Papers 272814, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    19. Jean Dreze & David Coady, 2010. "Commodity Taxation and Social Welfare : The Generalised Ramsey Rule," Working Papers id:2936, eSocialSciences.
    20. Yates, Andrew J., 1997. "A sufficiency result for constrained economies," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 411-423, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:del:abcdef:94-25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deltafr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.