Since it was first published Public Sector Economics has become the most widely adopted undergraduate textbook in its field. Major revisions have been made to this fourth edition while preserving the central objective of the book, which is to explain the relevant principles and the relationships between public expenditure, taxation and the behaviour of economic agents such as individuals, households and firms. A thoroughly revised edition of the standard UK text in the area All statistics bought up to date A wealth of new material, particularly on taxation