Market failures are not simply outcomes you do not like. They are institutional inefficiencies such as externalities (where a proportion … Continue reading “When market failure attracts rent-seekers”

“Market failure” is constantly used by capitalism’s critics as justification for government spending, taxes and regulation. In policy areas ranging … Continue reading “Market failure arguments are a poor guide to policy”

Philip Hammond’s decision in this week’s budget to abandon the Private Finance Initiative has been regarded by some commentators as … Continue reading “PFI’s defeat stems from poor government provision – not market failure”

This wasn’t a lazy half-hearted reshuffle, Theresa May was imposing her own stamp on government. Rather than going for continuity, … Continue reading “Beware May’s “industrial strategy”: Brexit Britain must be market-orientated”

The Good Right’s Good Press Tim Montgomerie’s “The Good Right” certainly gets a good press. Like, for example, the fair … Continue reading “The collateral damage of The Good Right’s phoney war”

We live in a world where big ideas are disdained. The term ‘ideologue’ is hurled as abuse, and mainstream politicians … Continue reading “Review of ‘More Human’ by Steve Hilton”

One thing that has always struck me about behavioural economics are the parallels to arguments about market failure (such as … Continue reading “Behavioural economics and human imperfection: A bad case for government control”

If somebody were to start an engineering textbook by saying that the maximum theoretical speed of a perfect car was … Continue reading “Do markets fail?”

– ‘There’s a study on this by University X, which clearly confirms A.’ – ‘That has long been debunked. Another … Continue reading “‘Market failure’ in housing? What ‘market’, Polly Toynbee?”