Nobel Prize winner, the late William Vickrey was considered by many an important figure in contemporary economics. He published several books and some 140 papers scattered over many journals. This book offers a selection from these papers, organized so as to bring out the scope and yet the unity of the work. Vickrey has the distinction of having contributed, often seminally and always operationally, to all major branches of public economics. The papers collected here cover social choice and allocation mechanisms, taxation, pricing in public utilities and in urban transportation, urban economics, and macroeconomic policies. Each topic is introduced by one of the four editors, and the book is completed with a bibliography of Vickrey's work.