to tackle problemsofeconomic policy in a more effectivemanner.Giventhattheevaluationofpolicyoptions requiresasoundunderstandingofboththenatureandmag­ nitudeofeconomic,behaviouralandinstitutionalconstraints Preface VI thatarefaced bygovernments,there isaneedforempirical analysisofunderlyingpolicyquestionsandissues. Thiscollectionofessays on empirical finance indicates thatempiricalassessmentispossibleusingarichanddiverse setofempirical approaches. The various papers exemplify someofthevarioustechniquesthatcan beused byapplied researchersforsheddinglightonthequestionsofinterestin appliedpublicfinanceanditsapplications.

I Introduction and overview.- Contemporary public economics.- II Economics of public programs.- The changing economic status of U.S. disabled men:Trends and their determinants, 1982-1991.- The role of labour demand elasticities in tax incidence analysis with heterogeneous labour..- III Tax leakages and efficiency.- Modelling the hidden economy and the tax-gap in New Zealand.- Tax efficiency in selected Indian states.- IV Do governments act in the interest of their constituents?.- Tax reforms and the growth of government.- Empirics of the median voter hypothesis in Japan.- v Optimality of the public capital stock.- Estimates of optimal public capital stocks in Japan using a public investment discount rate framework.- On the long run effect of public capital on aggregate output: Estimation and sensitivity analysis.