Public Finance - Hardcover

Carl S. Shoup was McVikar Professor of Political Economy at Columbia University. At General MacArthur's request he led the team creating modern Japan's tax system. He was described as "the dean of contemporary public finance experts."

Steven G. Medema is professor of economics at the University of Colorado, Denver. He is editor of Transaction’s Classics in Economics series.

“As might have been expected from the author, the treatment throughout is well informed, both in its analysis and its institutional detail. Students and scholars will find it a useful reference work.”

—James M. Buchanan, The Journal of Business

“Shoup’s book is a noteworthy summary of the state of the art in public finance. That the book is so long and difficult is more a reflection of the intricacy and breadth of the field than any desire on the part of Shoup to write a long and difficult book. Both in its topical coverage and in its substantive analysis, the book is more descriptive and pragmatic than a usual public-finance book—reflecting as it does Shoup’s career as a practitioner of public finance. Another plus for the book is that it is a truly general source book in public finance. It does not limit its analysis to the United States, but rather studies instruments used in other countries besides the United States and public-finance problems and effects encountered in other countries. For all of these reasons, Shoup’s book is a valuable addition to the public-finance literature.”

—Edward M. Gramlich, The Journal of Finance

“Professor Shoup’s new book will command attention for a long time... There can be no question that this is an outstanding work of erudition based on a life-time of scholarship and practical experience. Not only does the author range over the whole of the traditional field of public finance theory but he draws upon examples from many different countries to support his arguments.”

—A. R. Prest, Journal of Economic Literature

"A very scholarly book of genuine value to its field by Shoup, one of the outstanding authorities in public finance in the world."

—Choice