EconTalk Archives, 2009
EconTalk Archives, 2009
EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty
Winston on Market Failure and Government Failure
1 hour 6 minutes Posted Dec 28, 2009 at 11:30 am.
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Show notes
Clifford Winston of the Brookings Institution talks about the ideas in his book, Market Failure vs. Government Failure, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Winston summarizes a large literature on antitrust, safety regulation and environmental regulation. He finds that government regulation often fails to meet its objectives. While markets are imperfect, so is government. Winston argues that idealized theories of government intervention based on textbook theories of market failure are not the way regulation turns out in practice. He argues that special interest politics explains much of the disappointing outcomes of government regulation.