Wilfred Beckerman is an Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford University, England, and is now an Honorary Visiting Professor in the Department of Economics at University College London. He has been a Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution; the Economic Advisor to the President of the British Board of Trade; and Head of Division at the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development. He has also been a Visiting Professor at universities in France and the U.S.A., and a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations, and the International Labour Organization. His books include An Introduction to National Income Analysis; In Defence of Economic Growth; Measures of Leisure, Equality and Welfare; Poverty and the Impact of Income Maintenance Programs; Growth, the Environment and the Distribution of Incomes; Poverty and Social Security in Britain since 1961 [with Stephen Clark]; and Justice, Posterity, and the Environment [with JoannaPasek].

Treats Economics as an applied science

Breaks down, clearly, an analysis of economic policy issues to what are matters of fact and matters of values

Highlights the main value judgements in the analysis of what policies contribute to society's economic welfare

Part 1. Basic Principles.- 1. Preview.- 2. The Main Concepts.- 3. Fact and Value in Personal Choice.- 4. How to Make 'Bad' Choices.- 5. Fact and Value in Economic Policy: three examples.- 6. From Economic 'Efficiency' to Economic Welfare.- 7. The 'Social Welfare Function'.- 8. The 'Mindless' Society.- 9. Utilitarianism: The Search For A Single Over-riding Value.- 10 Constraints on Utilitarianism.- Part 2. Applications.- 11. GDP and Friends.- 12. Happiness.- 13. The Most Important Price: The Discount Rate.- 14. The Price of life.- 15. Equality: Fact or Value.- 16. Equality of What?.- 17. The Boundary of Society in Space.- Annex to Chapter 17: How to share out equitably he burden of combating climate change.- 18. The Boundary of Society inTime.- 19. Overview: The Role of Welfare Economics