Since your course is on state and local public finance, you might look at
Ronald Fisher's text "State and Local Public Finance," Scott, Foresman, 1988.
It is written for upper division udergraduates. In addition, check out Lee
Friedman's text "Microeconomic Policy Analysis," McGraw Hill, 1984. It is
written for first year graduate students in public policy. (Lee Friedman
teaches in the Graduate School for Public Policy at Berkeley.) Although there
is no calculus, it is fairly rigorous. He does some game theory,
decision-making under uncertainty, and numerous applications of policy
analysis from a micro viewpoint. I do not know if he has a new edition.
Bob Rider
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Date: 4/19/95 8:22 PM
To: Bob Rider
From: tch-econ@vax1.elon.edu
I am scheduled to teach a masters-level course on state and local
public finance in the fall, and possibly a course on federal public
finance in the winter. I am assuming I will have to rely mainly on
articles, but I was wondering if anyone was aware of a text at a
somewhat higher level than the typical undergraduate public finance
texts.
On another topic, for the first time in many years we are filling
a micro field vacancy (industrial organization). Several candidates
have reported that there seems to be something of a struggle in some
PhD departments between new faculty who argue graduate micro theory
should be taught with primary emphasis on game theory, and older
faculty who put less emphasis on that approach. Some candidates
have claimed that game theory will become one of the primary fields
in micro theory, as opposed to being relagated to a single chapter.
Any opinions on how much exposure to game theory students in a masters program
should receive (most of the students do not go on to a PhD program)?
What about at the undergraduate level? Obviously all the IO
candidates have some game theory background, the issue is one of
degree.
Tod Porter
FR164801@YSUB.YSU.EDU