This is the thirtyfifth volume in the Brookings Studies of Government Finance series. In the first of its four essays Analytical Foundations of Fiscal Policy Alan S. Blinder of Princeton University and Robert M. Solow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology survey the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of fiscal policy. After discussing how the influence of fiscal policy on macroeconomic activity ought to be assessed the authors examine and find inadequate the dictum that government should balance the budget rather than the economy. They defendagain both theoretically and empiricallythe efficacy of fiscal policy against the monetarist challenge. From an examination of the lags and uncertainties in the operation of fiscal policy and an analysis of the 196870 income tax surcharge they conclude that although much remains to be learned about the econometrics of policy multipliers the postsurcharge experience in no way undermines the theoretical foundations of fiscal policy. Where the burdens of various taxes fall has been a matter of intense interest to economic theorists in the last twenty years. As public expenditures and taxpayer resistance rise not only must policy makers try to distribute the burdens of taxation equitably but they must also attempt to move toward national goals by judicious use of tax instruments. George F. Break of the University of California at Berkeley in The Incidence and Economic Effects of Taxation a comprehensive review of recent tax literature focuses on the theoretical studies that have helped to expand knowledge of tax incidence and the empirical studies that support newly developed hypotheses. In each area he surveysthe design of theoretical and general sales and income taxes the effect of economic choices both of individuals and businesses on the national wellbeingBreak indicates the ground still to be covered and the potential benefits of further inquiry. In Public Expenditure Budgeting Peter O. Steiner of the Unive