The Role of Government in a Liberal Market Economy

Author(s):  
Claude Joseph

This essay is a critical assessment of the market failure theory and public choice theory. While the market failure theory provides a justification for government intervention in the economy, the public choice theorists are very skeptical about the role of government as a corrector of market failures. Since government failures can be worse than market failures, the imperfections in the market process, they argue, do not necessarily call for government intervention. These two theoretical perspectives, notwithstanding their difference, do share something in common. Both assume that individuals are self-interested. This essay contends that a shift from rational self-interested behavior to bounded-rational behavior provides a less contested role for the government. With bounded-rational behavior, the state should no longer be viewed as a mere surrogate of the market, but as “a choice architect,” “an entrepreneur,” and “a manager of conflict.”

Author(s):  
John Armstrong ◽  
David M. Williams

This chapter explores the government reaction to steam power and the issues of public safety that surrounded it. In particular, it questions the lack of prominent government intervention until the middle of the nineteenth century. It studies the economic advantages of steam over sail; the new hazards associated with steam power and the causes and rates of accidents; the call for government intervention which grew out of these hazards; an analysis of the lack of government response to this pressure for close to thirty years; and a study and assessment of the action eventually taken. It concludes by bringing these points together and places them into the wider context of maritime safety, the role of government, the problematic aspects of laissez-faire politics, and the difficulties inherent in the transition to new technology.


1999 ◽  
Vol 38 (4II) ◽  
pp. 897-904
Author(s):  
Pervaiz Tahir

The opinion of development professionals at home and abroad has converged on the point that bad governance lies at the root of the loss of the momentum of economic growth, increasing poverty and failed investment in social sectors. Early concern of development economists with market failure brought in the arguments for the role of government. Government failure was the dominant issue of the eighties. The last decade of the twentieth century is witnessing a focus on governance failure, a broader concept in that the government is not viewed as the only governing entity. This paper addresses an issue which has been there during the reigns of all these “failure” paradigms. It arises from the inability of governments, organised traditionally into the vertically operating line departments, to deal effectively with multisectoral or cross-sectoral problems and cross-cutting issues. The paper traces the evolution of multisectoral issues and looks at the standard approach of treating multisectoral initiatives as a horizontally fathomed coordination problem to show that it has been an unmitigated disaster. It argues that the multisectoral issues can be better addressed by internalising the elements of coordination, particularly in social sectors, though there have been situations which raise questions about this approach as well


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Blaylock ◽  
Alexander Edwards ◽  
Jared Stanfield

AbstractWe examine the role of government in the labor–creditor relationship using the case of the Chrysler bankruptcy. As a result of the government intervention, firms in more unionized industries experienced lower event-window abnormal bond returns, higher abnormal bond yields, and lower cumulative abnormal bond returns. The results are stronger for firms closer to distress. We also observe the effect in firms in which labor bargaining power is stronger and those with larger pension liabilities. Overall, the results underline the importance of government as a significant force in shaping the agency conflict between creditors and workers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2613
Author(s):  
Hyunsun Choi ◽  
Jungyoon Park ◽  
Eungi Lee

(1) What is the role of the government in enhancing social economy? South Korea has implemented projects and programs to enhance social economy. This paper discusses the positive role of government intervention by looking at the case of community business in South Korea. In addition, some limitations are discussed. (2) Qualitative data based on in-depth interviews with diverse stakeholders and participants were included. In addition, a comprehensive analysis of government documents and literature was conducted. (3) In spite of some bureaucratic and institutional limitations, the village company program of Korea has played an important role in enhancing the social economy for ten years. In particular, the early stages of government intervention in Korea have been successful. (4) However, when the government intends to get involved in enhancing the social economy, it is necessary to carefully prepare formal and informal institutions.


Author(s):  
Ada Scupola

This study investigates the role of government in the adoption and diffusion of e-commerce in small and medium size enterprises. Institutional involvement, and especially the role of government, has historically been determinant in the adoption and diffusion of technological innovations. King, Gurbaxani, Kraemer, McFarlan, Raman, and Yap’s (1994) framework of institutional factors in information technology innovation is used to analyze what is actually done and what SMEs would like to be done regarding government intervention to foster the adoption and diffusion of e-commerce. The findings show that the government could mostly influence adoption and diffusion through knowledge deployment, subsidies, and mobilization and that a convergence between companies’ wishes and government initiatives is starting taking place.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1915-1920
Author(s):  
D. Kinnersley

The scope for involving private capital participation in wastewater treatment and pollution control is attracting attention in a number of countries. After noting briefly some influences giving rise to this trend, this paper discusses frameworks in which such participation may be developed. In some aspects, there are choices available and it is essential to shape the private participation appropriately to the community's situation and problems, with due recognition of the hazards also involved. In other aspects, policy choices are more constrained, and there are requirements which it is suggested all private participation frameworks should provide for as clearly as possible. Effective private participation generally depends on re-designing and strengthening the role of government as the scale of its former role is reduced. Getting this re-design of the government role right is at least as important as making appropriate choices for format of private participation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-300
Author(s):  
Abhinav Alakshendra ◽  
Arjun Kumar ◽  
Simi Mehta

India is urbanizing at an alarming rate and the impact of climate change is becoming more visible each passing day. The rapid urbanization and climate change have severe direct and indirect consequences, such as increasing poverty, inequality, massive displacement, public health concerns, and challenges of urban governance, among others. This paper identifies some of the most pressing issues faced by urban India in the context of climate change. It also details the interventions undertaken at the local, national, and international levels to counter the effect of the climate change. In addition, it critically evaluates the role of government organizations, especially in terms of undertaking regulatory and planning functions. The paper argues that the implementation of institutional reforms would enable the government to reach out to the private sector to improve urban service delivery. It also provides examples of best practices from India and the world in combating climate change through adaptation and mitigation approaches.Abstrak. India mengalami urbanisasi pada tingkat yang mengkhawatirkan dan dampak perubahan iklim menjadi terlihat setiap hari. Urbanisasi yang cepat dan perubahan iklim memiliki konsekuensi langsung dan tidak langsung yang parah, seperti antara lain meningkatnya kemiskinan, ketimpangan, pengungsian besar-besaran, masalah kesehatan masyarakat, dan tantangan tata kelola kota. Makalah ini mengidentifikasi beberapa masalah paling mendesak yang dihadapi oleh perkotaan India dalam konteks perubahan iklim. Makalah ini juga merinci intervensi yang dilakukan di tingkat lokal, nasional, dan internasional untuk melawan dampak perubahan iklim. Selain itu, secara kritis makalah ini mengevaluasi peran organisasi pemerintah, terutama dalam menjalankan fungsi pengaturan dan perencanaan. Makalah ini berpendapat bahwa pelaksanaan reformasi kelembagaan akan memungkinkan pemerintah menjangkau sektor swasta untuk membantu meningkatkan pelayanan perkotaan. Makalah ini juga memberikan contoh praktik terbaik dari India dan dunia dalam memerangi perubahan iklim melalui pendekatan adaptasi dan mitigasi.Kata kunci. Urbanisasi, perubahan iklim, keterkaitan, tata kelola kota, mitigasi.


Author(s):  
Bambang Dradjat ◽  
Herman Herman

This research focussed on the export development of cocoa bean with respect to its export growth, values and competitiveness. Based on this deve-lopment, the aim of this research is to propose alternative development strategies of export business for cocoa bean in the future. The Analysis Hierarchie Process (AHP) framework of export business of cocoa bean was arranged consecutively from formulation of focuss or goals, identification of affecting factors and actors, deter mination of actor objectives, and recognition of alternative strategies needed. Each component of goals, factors, actors, objectives, and alternative strategies were valued on the basis of their importance using Saaty scales. Results of interviews with experts were analyzed using AHP technique. The development of cocoa bean export from 2000 to 2006 showed the competitiveness position of Indonesia in the world market was fairly good. In order to increase the growth and values of cocoa bean export, the experts consider the role of government as regulators and facilitators is very important. The government became the main actor for the export development through de/regulation related to the cocoa bean commodity. The objectives of actors could be achieved by combining strategies (i) provision of fund in national and regional budget, as well as other sources (ii) implementation of recomended technologies of cocoa, (iii) acceleration of replanting program, (iv) improvement of research productivity in producing high yielding plant materials, (v) development of transportation facilities from farms to harbours, (vi) development of farmers’ organization and partnerships as well as strategic alliance, and (viii) pests and diseases control. Key words: Cocoa bean, expor, role of government, objectives and strategies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document