Public Economics (Public Finance)

Author: Jiang Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The title of this book, Public Economics (Public Finance), might cause some readers to be confused: Is this a textbook on public economics or a textbook on public finance? The title itself aims to provide an answer to this question on the cover of the book: Public economics is public finance, and public finance is public economics; they are essentially the same thing. Originally, the title could have been either Public Economics or Public Finance. Putting them together with a parenthesis seems redundant. We did this for two reasons: First, the practice of referring to our discipline as "public economics" is becoming increasingly common; second, there is a popular view that treats public economics and public finance as two distinct disciplines or fundamentally different theories, which can easily lead to misunderstandings.
The title of this book, Public Economics (Public Finance), might cause some readers to be confused: Is this a textbook on public economics or a textbook on public finance? The title itself aims to provide an answer to this question on the cover of the book: Public economics is public finance, and public finance is public economics; they are essentially the same thing. Originally, the title could have been either Public Economics or Public Finance. Putting them together with a parenthesis seems redundant. We did this for two reasons: First, the practice of referring to our discipline as "public economics" is becoming increasingly common; second, there is a popular view that treats public economics and public finance as two distinct disciplines or fundamentally different theories, which can easily lead to misunderstandings.
This book, Public Economics, was revised based on our previously written Public Finance. It retains the features of the original book, aligns highly with the fundamental theories of similar disciplines internationally, and also fully incorporates the close connection with China's public economics and finance reforms. Correspondingly, the chapters in this book are roughly divided into two categories. One category explains the basic theories of public economics and provides the fundamental methods of analysis, all of which are based on modern economics and are roughly the same in system and content as international textbooks. Chapters 1 to 8, 13 to 15, and most of chapters 19, 20, 21, and 22 roughly belong to this category. The remaining chapters fall into the other category, primarily discussing the current state of China's public economics and policy systems, and applying the basic theories and methods to conduct preliminary analysis and evaluation of China's specific circumstances. This part reflects the characteristics of China's economic and policy environment and differs from foreign textbooks.
The first category of chapters is the focus of teaching, while the second category primarily connects with China's specific circumstances, providing material for the application of the basic theories and methods of public economics.