ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces the concepts of consumer and social surplus criteria, which economists have developed in recent years to provide guidelines for the allocation of resources in the public sector. In most land-use planning contexts it is customary to talk of needs for goods and services not provided by the private sector. The chapter analyses the concept of needs and brings out a number of possible meanings, some of which are very close if not identical to the economist's concept of surplus and others which are not. Paternalism may further run into conflict with the assumptions underlying the surplus criterion to the extent that it takes the form of asserting that minimum levels of consumption should be adhered to. In many land use planning contexts, and quite generally in the public sector, the allocation of resources is determined by reference to standards.