Principles of Economic Policy: Value and Technology: Value and Technology

Author: Nicholas Acocella
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: Based on the theoretical framework of market failure, this book integrates themes from macroeconomics, microeconomics, applied economics, and welfare economics, providing a popular economics textbook for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel laureate in Economics, once commented on this book: "Professor Nicholas Acocella offers an insightful and thought-provoking interpretation of the principles of economic policy. His analysis not only builds upon established theories but also paves new areas, enriching the existing literature." This book examines the process of forming social preferences, institutional choices, and government's current decisions. Generally, the field of economic policy includes any discipline that utilizes economic analysis knowledge and other disciplines that serve as guides for the behavior of economic agents. The chapters are arranged in decreasing order of abstraction. The first part discusses the definition of social preferences. The second part examines the impact of these preferences on social institutions, particularly the choice between government and the market. These two parts constitute the content of welfare economics. The third part outlines the structure of rational public behavior, depicting a more realistic picture of the economic agents in society and defining and executing the process of government actions. The fourth to sixth parts study government activities in various fields at both microeconomic and macroeconomic levels under closed and open economic conditions.