Bøger i Cambridge Economic Handbooks serien

This 1983 book is a wide-ranging study of the macroeconomic side of monetary theory. Traditional macroeconomics uses simple, aggregative models to analyse monetary and fiscal policy, which we cannot do without but also rarely attains rigour required of modern theory. This book represents an attempt to do it properly.

In this book, Professor David Starrett organizes within a single framework the major theoretical foundations of modern public sector economics. He presents a unified treatment of market failure that encompasses externalities, pure public goods, local public goods and natural monopolies.

As the title suggests, this book deals mainly with what can be described as the general-equilibrium approach to monetary theory. The author does not attempt an encyclopaedic treatment, but investigates the central problems and ideas in the development of contemporary monetary theory.

This book expounds trade theory emphasizing that a trading equilibrium is general rather than partial, and is often best modelled using dual or envelope functions. This yields a compact treatment of standard theory, clarifies some errors and confusions, and produces some new departures. In particular, the book (i) gives unified treatments of comparative statics and welfare, (ii) sheds new light on the factor-price equalization issue, (iii) treats the modern specific-factor model in parallel with the usual Heckscher-Ohlin one, (iv) analyses the balance of payments in general equilibrium with flexible and fixed prices, (v) studies imperfect competition and intra-industry trade.

A presentation of the economic principles relating to the use and management of natural resources, including analysis of optimal use policies.