This is the third volume in the series Surveys of Recent Research in Economics. The series is intended to help busy academics and practitioners keep abreast of important developments that relate to, without necessarily being narrowly focussed on, their own more specific interests. This particular volume should be of interest to academic economists, political scientists (and, indeed, other social scientists), as well as practitioners engaged in policy-making and implementation. The contributions are accessible to advanced undergraduates and provide useful supplementary readings for a wide variety of courses in both Economics and Political Science.

Stuart Sayer is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Economics Department at Edinburgh University.