Just finished this fascinating collection of papers. Very well done and extremely readable I thought this a great find.

This is a useful book since it is clear, systematic and rigorous. It is biased because it leaves out certain arguments and are more critical of opposing arguments than arguments in favour of the welfare state. For instance, very few pages are devoted to discussing government failure and the information problems facing the government

Let me begin this review with the recommendation: this book is the ultimate resource for a clear, non-polemic analysis of the welfare state. If you really want to learn about the ins and outs of welfare and privatization - and I mean _really_ learn - this is the book you want. You could read any five other books about welfare economics, income inequity, and social policy without getting as thorough an examination as this book contains. If you want to learn about the ins and outs of privatization and the welfare state, what works and what doesn't (and why), look no further. I have never read, nor even heard of, a more thorough treatment - which is remarkable considering that this book is accessible to any intelligent reader with a bit of patience.

"The Economics of the Welfare State" is commonly used as a textbook for upper year undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in economics. This does not, however, mean that you actually need to have such an economic background to understand it. This 415 page text starts from the beginning, covering all of the economic theory and politucal background you need to understand the contents. In my opinion, it would help to have taken a course in introductory microeconomics before reading this book. That isn't strictly necessary, though, I just think it's helpful in order to understand such serious economic ideas without too much head-scratching. In fact, the book has simplified summaries of the theory chapters for "non-technical" readers, and suggestions of what you should read, depending on your interests, if you don't want to read the whole thing.

The author warns that you may have to take some stuff on faith if you skip the theory, but trust me, you can because it's rock solid.

Oh yes, and while this may be a book on economics, you won't find very many equations in it. And every single one of them can safely be skipped without really hurting the general reader's understanding of the book. This isn't an abstract work, either - Britain is used as the major case study, with many comparisons to other countries such as the US. Specific institutions and policies are described and evaluated, with direct application to real-world political debates. Every bit of theory in the book is directly applied to relevant, detailed examples. The author intends to educate, rather than to pursuade, so the issues are considered in light of multiple ideological perspectives. After describing the major views on the welfare state, all the way from libertarianism through to socialism, Barr points out the relevance of his major points to the perspectives of these various groups.

This is a good book for people interested in evaluating just about any political orientation. It uses clear, well-justified arguments to demonstrate that market failure in many important areas is unambiguous, and that government intervention may not only be superior in principle, but often is superior in the real world. It considers these issues from different perspectives, making it clear that concerns for economic efficiency and social equity may lead to different conclusions.

The author makes no bones about shooting down all unsubstantiated arguments, not just conservative ones. He clearly demolishes a lot of liberal and socialist arguments that some services should be provided by government - if the market really is more efficient at producing something that one wants to guarantee, the government should usually pay for it, not produce it. He considers many situations, such as housing, where the historical use of subsidy and regulation rather than outright income transfers appears to be economically inefficient and inequitable. Barr also explains how some policies designed to decrease inequality can actually increase it. He describes the university system in the UK as regressive, that is, promoting inequality. While it is paid for by all and free to all, in practice the rich are much more likely to actually attend university. Those wishing to promote social equality would do best to read these arguments, so that they can avoid supporting measures destined to backfire. He even demonstrates that some major political arguments have been over trivialities. He explains how the differences between "pay as you go" social insurance schemes and those funded by one's own previous contributions are actually not all that great, contrary to much of the debate about Social Security in the US.