An Improved Rationale for Public Choice (Paperback)

One could argue, the potential for government to have a positive impact on the economy, has been widely accepted as a given, by mainstream economists and United States policy makers. While the cost of government is typically addressed in terms of budgets, taxes and expenditures, Coleman uses a survey of economic theory, empirical studies and governmental reports, in order to offer an improved rationale when assessing the efficacy of existing and potential public initiatives. Inspired by Austrian economists, Coleman identifies and then applies notion of a Production Deficit to each of the productive economic resources, for the purpose of developing a complete accounting of the cost of public initiatives. Delineating Production Deficit from crowding out, opportunity cost and resource displacement, this manuscript culminates in the Minimally Acceptable Production Recovery (MAPR) and Public Efficiency Contribution (PEC) models. These models are intended to serve as decision making tools for those who may be considering the reallocation of private industry resources for public use.