Public finance

Economics has grown so rapidly in recent years, it has in creased so much in scope and depth, and the new dominance of the empirical approach has so transformed its character, that no one book can do it justice today. To fill this need, the Foundations of Modern Economic series was conceived. The Series, brief books written by leading specialists, reflects the structure, content, and key scientific and policy issues of each field. Used in combination, the Series provides the mate rial for the basic one-year college course. The analytical core of eco nomics is presented in Prices and Markets and National Income Analy sis, which are basic to the various fields of application. Two books in the Series, The Evolution of Modern Economics and Economic Develop ment: Past and Present, can be read without prerequisite and can serve as an introduction to the subject.
The Foundations approach enables an instructor to devise his own course curriculum rather than to follow the format of the traditional textbook. Once analytical principles have been mastered, many sequences of topics can be arranged and specific areas can be explored at length. An instructor not interested in a complete survey course can omit some books and concentrate on a detailed study of a few fields. One-semester courses stressing either macro- or micro-economics can be readily devised. The instructors guide to the Series indicates the variety of ways the books in the Series can be used.
The books in the Series are also being used as supplements to the basic textbooks, to permit a fuller curriculum on some topics. Inter mediate level courses are using volumes in the Series as the core text, and are combining it with various readings.