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This econd edition of Democracy and Welfare Economics is an extensively revised update of van den Doel's 1979 classic. Because of van den Doel's illness, van Velthoven has accepted the task of incorporating contemporary theoretical literature and empirical research into the original. The resulting primer is an essential addition to the library of any scholar interested in the theoretical intersection of economics and politics.
Meticulously specifying definitions and methods throughout, the authors begin with an introduction to the application of economic theory to political decision-making. Based on the observation that governments are not unitary actors, the book explores the impact on social welfare of varying forms of organization of the public sector. The concept of social welfare is painstakingly defined, and quantitative...