In this paper cost - benefit rules for public transport subsidies are considered. Recent applications of cost-benefit analysis to the appraisal of bus service provision are surveyed, and justifications for public transport subsidy considered. The authors derive the cost-benefit ratio appropriate...

It is widely accepted that local authorities in England have been placed under increasing fiscal pressure during the 1980s by the block grant system combined with the rising level of grant penalties. Controversy surrounds the question of which local authorities have been worst treated by the new...

Two major policy innovations of the Thatcher governments are analysed -- privatisation and poll tax. A public choice analysis is used to predict and explain why poll tax will be a less popular policy electorally than privatisation. The explanation focuses on the distribution of gains and losses...