本文共分五章：
第一章導論
第二章「外部成本」與經濟福利。首先說明「外部成本」的意義，澄清其概念。「外部成本」的存在使得傳統的市場理論出現了漏洞，「藉著完全競爭的市場體系便能達致巴萊圖最適點（Poreto Optimum）」的理論也面臨了嚴重考驗。從本章的分析中，吾人得知；「外部成本」不只造成了市場價格的扭曲，從而錯誤地引導了資源的配置；尤有甚者，在實際的「外部成本」例證如各種的污染與擁擠問題中，則將發生生產效率的條件遭到破壞的現象，此時，巴萊圖均衡與一般均衡都無法達成。要之：「人為干預」乃屬必要。。
第三章比較並評估「人為干預」的兩種方法—「民間談判」與「租稅對策」，它們之間共同的理論基礎是無論「民間談判」與「租說對策」，其目的都在使「外部成本」內在化，當分析的對象限於兩個經濟個體之間時，「外部成本」應歸由其中一方負擔，或雙方共同負擔。「民間談判」與「租稅對策」的基本分歧乃在：政府應否以財政力量介入「外部成本」問題中？本章引述畢固解（Pigovian Solution）、大衛士（O. A. Davis）溫斯敦（A. Whinston）的模型解與寇斯定理（Coase Theorem）、和馬秦（R. Marchard）羅歇爾（K. P. Russell）模型分析，並分別加以批判，然後綜合予以評估。
第四章則討論一般均衡模型下的租稅解，當「外部成本」不只存在於兩個經濟個體之間時，「民間談判」顯然無法適用於斯，租說解為惟一可行之途徑，惟在本章分析中，筆者發現：建立一個完善的一般均衡模型為經濟學者們的新嚐試，也關係著各種「公害」問題能否配合以財理措施來解決。「外部成本」理論的發展趨勢，亦將朝著這個方向，殆無疑問。
第五章結論。

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