This paper examines James Buchanan's earliest writings within the context of post-WWII public finance theory and his education at Chicago. Public choice scholars have long recognized their ties to Chicago, but few have examined Chicago's role serving as the primordial soup for Buchanan's later...

No individual in the history of public economics has been subject to more contentious discussion than Knut Wicksell – and perhaps no concept subjected to more diverse interpretation than Wicksell's unanimity rule. The story begins in 1896 with the publication of Wicksell's public finance...

This chapter examines the origins of James M. Buchanan's critique of Keynesian fiscal policy. Considered are Buchanan's graduate training in public finance and fiscal policy and his early work in fiscal federalism. Two important themes emerge. The first is the influence of Henry C. Simons. The...

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the book that established the field of public choice – The Calculus of Consent by James M. Buchanan and Gordon Tullock. The year is also the thirtieth anniversary of Elinor Ostrom’s “Covenants With and Without a Sword,” in which she...