Oltre la teoria pura della spesa pubblica: modelli teorici di second best

The theoretical analysis of public expenditure is usually carried out within a First-Best (FB) frame work, where the social planner is assumed to be perfectly informed. As a consequence, economic policy implications are not very relevant in practice, because the real world (which is typically an imperfect information world) can only attain constrained, i.e. Second Best (SB), optima. The present paper aims to provide a comprehensive and homogeneous reconstruction of the literature on Second-Best public expenditure. We try to draw a unitary picture of the contributions in this area, and to emphasize their theoretical consistency as well as their capability to interpret the more recent institutional changes within western democracies.