Given the external benefits higher education creates, it is efficient — Nicholas Barr

"It is argued that regulators are frequently captured by those whom they are supposed to regulate."

"Unless the countries of East Asia are very different, rising incomes and the weakening of extended family ties will lead to demands for rising social expenditure."

"Thus social insurance, in sharp contrast with actuarial insurance, can cover not only risk but also uncertainty."

"A reduction in the liberty of the least well off cannot be justified even if it is to their economic advantage."

"A socialist country like Sweden has a highly articulated welfare state; Denmark and New Zealand (which are not highly industrialized) were among the first countries with a public system of old-age pensions; and Saskatchewan was the first Canadian province to have publicly organized health insurance."

"First, the welfare state is not a subject apart, but fits naturally into the framework of economic analysis. Secondly,the theoretical arguments support the existence of the welfare state not only for well known equity reasons but also - and powerfully - in efficiency terms."