This collection of papers is intended as a background to the field of discussion in public finance. One of the main strands of thought in the collection asks under what conditions can Pareto optimality be achieved in an economic system in which some goods supplied are indivisible?

This collection of papers is intended as a background to the field of discussion in public finance. Two of the main strands of thought in the collection are concerned with the theory of public expeniture. The first asks under what conditions can Pareto optimality be achieved in an economic system in which some goods supplied are indivisible? The other strand is concerned with the positive theory of the public sector - how can economic analysis be used in order to explain how the size and composition of the budget is actually determined?

Preface - Preface to the Fourth Impression - Preface to the Reissue - Introduction
R.A.Musgrave &
A.T.Peacock - Three Extracts on Public Finance
A.Wagner - Contribution to the Theory of the Distribution of Public Expenditure
M.Pantaleoni - On Taxation
L.Von Stein - The Formation of the Prices of Public Goods
U.Mazzola - On Progressive Taxation
A.J.Cohen Stuart - A New Principle of Just Taxation
K.Wicksell - The Pure Theory of Taxation
F.Y.Edgeworth - The Fundamental Principles of a Pure Theory of Public Finance
G.Montemartini - On Taxation in General
P.Leroy-Beaulieu - On Public Needs
E.Barone - Just Taxation: A Positive Solution
E.Lindahl - The Valuation Theory of Taxation
E.Sax - A Theory of the Public Economy
F.Von Wieser - A Sociological Approach to Problems of Public Finance
R.Goldscheid - Some Controversial Questions in the Theory of Taxation
E.Lindahl - Communal Economy and Market Economy
H.Ritschl - Index