The traditional school of economic policy analysis predicts that globalisation will give rise to predatory competition between the governments of the European nation states. The consequence is anticipated to be a marked reduction in, if not the destruction of, the benevolent Welfare State. The...

This paper argues that to associate intergovernmental grants with the objectives of equity and efficiency implies that governments are irrational. The authors find long-term systematic irrationality in the behavior of any institution difficult to accept. The authors, therefore, propose that the...

When purchasing goods and services, governments often discriminate in favor of domestic suppliers. It is widely assumed that such behavior is motivated by protectionism. Although this interpretation is sometimes valid, it is also puzzling. After reviewing some of the puzzles, the paper proposes...