By examining both sides of each policy area, Sheffrin's careful review of our national policy-making reveals a minefield where, in many cases, politics cannot help but fail as badly as markets. In short, the fact that markets may fail does not guarantee that politics will succeed. He argues that beneath each area lies a unique calculus of market failure and political pressures, and convincingly demonstrates that no single policy can be understood out of economic and political context. Sheffrin applies such analysis to the areas of health care, social security, environmental policy, product liability, trade policy, and fiscal and budgetary policy. He then combines the crucial question of political viability with the fascinating particulars of policy histories. Why should we trust the government to clean our air? How do we know what to define as clean? What kind of health insurance business will the government run? What are the dangers of publicly financed doctors? Sheffrin first explains traditional theories of market failure, used to justify intervention. In Markets and Majorities, Steven Sheffrin addresses essential yet overlooked questions about political intervention in economic spheres. Unfortunately, we do so blindly few Americans understand how or why our government regulates the market mechanisms that surround us. From the air we breathe, to our health, wealth, and security, Americans wade through a vast political ocean. America's government intervenes in almost every aspect of its citizens' daily lives.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |