Economics in a Changing World: Volume 3

This volume contains twelve papers on 'public policy and economic organization' which were presented at the Tenth World Congress ofthe International Economic Association. As the table of contents shows, the volume spans a wide variety of problems: from ethics and welfare as basic principles, to the transition of post-communist economies and the problems of how to help the poor by distribution policies. An introduction to such a volume should explain the in-herent logic and coherence in the selection of papers. I shall use this occasion to highlight some recent developments in public economics and to lead the reader to a recognition of particularly challenging areas of research, as reflected in the contributions in this volume.