Stephen Bailey is a lawyer in private practice. He was previously a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, and he has taught public international law and contract law at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh.

'...written in a reader-friendly style...The concluding section should be required reading for all local-government researchers and practitioners.' - David Burningham, Times Higher Education Supplement 'Written in a user-friendly style, making full use of international data and cross-country comparisons...starting with a thorough review of the trade-off between technical efficiency and economies of scale and the exit-voice framework, he successfully navigates the reader through the economics of charging grants, expenditure and taxation to issues of local-government reform, competition and quality. The concluding section should be required reading for all local-government researchers and practitioners.' - David Burningham, Times Higher Educational Supplement 'A most interesting book that will fill an important gap in the market.' - Professor P.M. Jackson, Director, Management Centre, Leicester University

• Introduction to Local Government Economics The Economic Efficiency Case for Decentralised Government Exit and Voice within Local Government Revealing Preferences Via Exit and Voice The Economics of Local Government Expenditure Fiscal Stress The Economics of Local Government Charges The Economics of Local Government Taxation The Economics of Intergovernmental Grants The Median Voter Model and Hypothesis The Flypaper Effect Public Choice Theory and Local Government Reform Competition and Quality The Impact of the Purchaser-Provider Split in the UK Conclusions Bibliography