Proficiency Examination:
Core Readings for Economic Analysis

Books

Bartlett,R. 1989.  Economics and power: An inquiry into human relations and markets.  New York, NY; Cambridge University Press.

Blaug, M. 1992. The Methodology of Economics, 2^nd Edition. Cambridge University Press.

Esping-Anderson, G. 1985.  Politics against markets; The Social democratic road to power. Princeton, NJ; Princeton University Press.

Esping-Anderson, G. 1990.  The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton, NJ; Princeton University Press.

Ferber, M. & Nelson, J. 1993. Beyond economic man; Feminist theory and economics.  Chicago, Illinois; University of Chicago Press.

Folbre, N. 1994.  Who pays for the kids?; Gender and the Structures of Constraint.  New York, NY; Routledge Press. 

Friedman, Lee S. 2002. The Microeconomics of Public Policy Analysis. Princeton University Press.

Johannson, P.-O. 1991. An Introduction to Modern Welfare Economics. Cambridge University Press.

Pindyck, Robert S. and Daniel L. Rubinfeld.  2001. Microeconomics, 5^th Edition. Prentice Hall.

Rosen, Harvey. 1995. Public Finance

Book Chapters

Allais, Maurice 1978. “Theories of General Economic Equilibrium and Maximum Efficiency,” in G.Schrödiauer, ed., Disequilibrium in Economic Theory, Boston, Dortrecht, pp. 129-201.

 Elster, Jon 1983. “Explaining Technical Change: A Case Study in the Philosophy of Science,” Neoclassical Theories, London, Cambridge University Press, ch. 4, pp. 96-157.

Boarding, Greenberg, Vining, and Weimer. 2001. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice, Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, and 14

Bruce, Neil, 2001, Public Finance and the American Economy: Chapter 6.

Fisher, Ronald C. 1996. State and Local Public Finance: Chapters 1, 2, and 12-17

Stokey, Edith, and Richard Zeckhauser, 1978. A Primer for Policy Analysis: Chapter 9.

Tresch, Richard W., 2001, Public Finance: A Normative Theory: Chapters 23 and 28.

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Articles

Agha, Ali and Jonathan Haughton, 1996, Designing VAT systems: Some efficiency considerations, The Review of Economics and Statistics, 78(2): 303-308.

Akerloff, G. 1970. “The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol 89, pp. 488-500.

Alesina, Alberto. “The Political Economy of the Budget Surplus in the United States.” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol 14, No. 3, Summer 2000, pp. 3-19.

 Arthur, B. 1990. Positive Feedbacks in the Economy, Scientific American, Feb., pp. 92-99.

 Auerbach, Alan J. and Daniel Feenberg. “o         The Significance of Federal Taxes as Automatic Stabilizers.” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol 14, No. 3, Summer 2000, pp. 37-56.

 Bagwell, Kyle and Robert W. Staiger “The WTO as a Mechanism for Securing Market Access Property Rights: Implications for Global Labor and Environmental Issues.” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 15, No. 3, Summer 2001.

 Ballard, Charles, and Don Fullerton, 1992. “Distortionary Taxes and the Provision of Public Goods,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer, pp. 117-131.

 Barthold, Thomas. 1994. “Issues in the Design of Environmental Excise Taxes,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 8, no. 1, Winter, pp. 133-151.

 Bazelon, Coleman, and Kent Smetters. 1999. “Discounting Inside the Washington DC Beltway,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall, pp. 213-229.

 Besley, Timothy, 1995, "Nonmarket Institutions for Credit and Risk Sharing in Low-Income Countries", Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(3), pp. 115-127.

 Buchanan, James (1965, February).  "An Economic Theory of Clubs," Economica 32

Coase, Ronald. 1937. “The Nature of the Firm”, Economica, vol. 4: 386-405.

Courant, P., 12/1994, “How Would You Know a Good Economic Development Policy if you Tripped Over One? Hint: Don’t Just Count Jobs,” National Tax Journal, Vol. 47, pp 863-81

Fisher, 3/1997, “The Effects of State and Local Public Services on Economic Development,” New England Economic Review, pp. 54-82, www.belkcollege.uncc.edu/brusso/

 Foster, J.D. and James C. Miller III. “Policy Watch The Tyranny of Budget Forecasts.” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol 14, No. 3, Summer 2000, pp. 205-215.

 Feldstein, Martin S., 1976, "Seven Principles of Social Insurance", Challenge, November/December, pp. 6 – 11.

 Hahn, Robert W. 1998. “Policy Watch: Government Analysis of the Costs and Benefits of Regulation,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall, pp. 201-210.

 Hart, Oliver. 1989. “An Economist’s Perspective on the Theory of the Firm”, Columbia Law Review, vol. 89, no. 7, pp.1757-1774.

 Holmstrom, Bengt, and John Roberts. 1998. “The Boundaries of the Firm Revisited,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall, pp. 73-94. Also see other articles in this symposium.

 Kirzner, I.M. 1997. Entrepreneurial Discovery and the Competitive Market Process: An Austrian Approach, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 35, March, pp. 60-85.

 Mirowski, Philip. 1984. “Physics and the ‘Marginals Revolution’,” Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 8, pp. 361-379.

 Nelson, R.R. 1995. Recent Evolutionary Theorizing about Economic Change, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 33, pp. 48-90.

 Nichols, Albert L. and Richard J. Zeckhauser (1982), "Targeting Transfers through Restrictions on Recipients," American Economic Review, 72(2), pp. 372-377.

 Porter, Michael E., and Claas van der Linde. 1995. “Toward a New Conception of the Environment-Competitiveness Relationships,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall, pp. 97-118.

 Rodrik, Dani. 1998. “Symposium on Globalization in Perspective: An Introduction,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall, pp. 3-8. Also see other articles in this symposium.

Rosen, Kenneth, T, 2/1982, “The Impact of Proposition 13 on House Prices in Northern California: A Test of the Interjurisdictional Capitalization Hypothesis,” Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 90, pp. 191-200.

Russo, Benjamin, 11/2002, “A Report on Research into Proposed Solutions to Sales and Use Tax Conundrums,” State Tax Notes, pp. 331-36, www.belkcollege.uncc.edu/brusso/

Russo, Benjamin, January 10, 2005, “Will the State Sales Tax Future be Like its Past?,” State Tax Notes, pp. 115-122, www.belkcollege.uncc.edu/brusso/

Sandmo, Agnar. 1999. “Asymmetric Information and Public Economics,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter, pp. 165-180.

 Sepehri, Ardeshir and Robert Chernomas, 2001, "Are User Charges Efficiency- and Equity-Enhancing? A Critical Review of Economic Literature with Particular Reference to Experience from Developing Countries," Journal of International Development, 13(2), pp. 183-209.

Summers, Lawrence H., "Some Simple Economics of Mandated Benefits", American Economic Review, 79 (2), pp. 177 – 183.

Taylor, John B. “Reassessing Discretionary Fiscal Policy.” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol 14, No. 3, Summer 2000, pp. 21-36.

Tideman, Nicolaus and Gordon Tullock “A New and Superior Process for Making Social Choices.” Journal of Political Economy Vol 84, No. 6, December 1976, pp. 1145-1159.

Viscusi, Kip W. 1996. “Economic Foundations of the Current Regulatory Reform Efforts,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer, pp. 119-134.

Wallis, John Joseph. “American Government Finance in the Long Run: 1790 to 1990.” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol 14, No. 1, Winter 2000, pp. 61–82.

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