Political economy of public intervention.

Summary The objective of this thesis is to introduce a political dimension into the public decision-making process and thus contribute to a new interpretation of public policy-making. The consideration of a political sphere reveals public decision-makers who maximize their own interests rather than promote the general interest. The first part explains the functioning of the political market and the behavior of its actors. The second and third parts consider two specific public policies. First, the regulation of an energy-producing and polluting monopoly is analyzed when the government's welfare objective is influenced by an environmentalist interest group. Second, the definition of a social program with a redistributive purpose is studied, namely the public provision of health care coverage financed by direct taxation, when the government's decision is subject to electoral pressures.