The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure: Partial Equilibrium

Abstract

Although the underlying ideas have had a long history (Musgrave and Peacock, 1958, and Musgrave, 1938) the term “the pure theory of public expenditure” came into being as the title of an article by Paul A. Samuelson (1954).¹ In a subsequent treatment of the subject, Samuelson (1955) was led by comments on the earlier article to modify the title from “the pure theory” to “a theory” on the ground that “public expenditures and regulation [also] proceed from considerations other than those emphasized in my models.”