Walras-Lindahl-Wicksell: What equilibrium concept for public goods provision ? I - The convex case

Abstract

Despite the large number of its references, this paper is less a survey than a systematic exposition, in an unifying framework and assuming convexity as well on the consumption side as on the production side, of the different equilibrium concepts elaborated for studying provision of public goods. As weak as possible conditions for their existence and their optimality properties are proposed. The general conclusion is that the drawbacks of the different equilibrium concepts lead to founding public economic policy either on direct Pareto improving government interventions or on state enforcement of decentralized mechanisms.Private provision equilibrium ; Lindahl-Foley equilibrium ; public competitive equilibrium ; abstract economies ; equilibrium existence ; welfare theorems ; core