Foldvary, Fred. Public Goods and Private Communities: The Market Provision of Social Services. Brookfield VT: Ashgate Publishing, 1994, 288 pp., $@@‐@@59.95

Abstract

Do public goods and services, such as streets, parks and dams have to be provided by government? In Public Goods and Private Communities, Fred Foldvary's innovative application of public choice and social choice theory to questions of urban economics shows how collective goods can be provided by agents in a market process. Rejecting the market-failure hypothesis, Dr Foldvary argues that an entrepreneur can provide collective goods by consensual community agreements. Instead of studying particular services, as previous studies have done, this book concerns itself with entire private communities. A series of case studies demonstrate how real world communities, such as Walt Disney World, the Reston Association in Virginia and the private neighbourhoods of Saint Louis, are in fact financing their own public goods and services in accordance with this theory. For such communities to rise and prosper, the author contends, government must eliminate zoning and many other restrictions, as well as the taxation of private services. After considering the implications of his work for urban economies - at a time when many of America's cities are plagued by decay, violence and poverty - Dr Foldvary argues that prosperity can be restored to cities if private communities are allowed to develop. As an original response to an urgent, contemporary problem this well-written book will be welcomed by social scientists, policy makers and business leaders seeking solutions to problems of urban decay.