Market Corrections Not Government Interventions: A Path to Improve the US Economy

by Clifford Winston

Overview

The choice of whether to recommend a market solution or a government intervention to address an economic or social problem is the eternal issue of public policy analysis. Throughout the decades, academics, policymakers, and the public have alternated between market-friendly and market-skeptical perspectives. But do these shifting views accurately reflect our knowledge about market and government performance?

In this book, Clifford Winston examines the extensiveness as well as the persistence of government failures in the US economy and the potential for market corrections to address those failures. He provides contemporary empirical evidence that strongly questions the effectiveness of government interventions, and he explores whether markets can self-correct to solve economic and social problems more efficiently.

Offering a comprehensive overview of government failures, the book includes key definitions and classifications. Winston synthesizes the available empirical evidence and analyzes the findings, which reveal persistent losses in economic welfare, despite the positive theoretical expectations of government interventions. Theoretical explanations of government failures are then evaluated and found to lack the ability to guide efficient policy reforms. Finally, the robustness of markets to overcome their inefficiencies or failures is characterized in terms of market corrections. Empirical evidence is presented to show that, in contrast to government failures, markets have often corrected their failures.

The implications of the book for academics and policymakers are twofold. First, when they are considering the efficacy of a market solution or a government intervention to address an economic or social problem, they should be much more cognizant of the potential for government failure and for this failure to persist. Second, they should also take a long-run view of markets and account for their ability to self-correct. Thus, the book calls for a more stable perspective toward markets and government—one where market corrections, not government interventions, are envisioned as offering a path for improving the US economy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031928147
Publisher:	Springer Nature Switzerland
Publication date:	09/24/2025
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Clifford Winston is a senior fellow in the economic studies program at the Brookings Institution. He is author or editor of several books, including Reforming Occupational Licensing in the US.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Part I. Government Failure.- Chapter 2. Defining and Measuring Government Failure.- Chapter 3. Government Policies, Institutions, and Benchmarks for Assessing Government Performance.- Chapter 4. Empirical Evidence of Government Failures.- Chapter 5. The Failure to Explain Government Failure.- Part II. Market Corrections.- Chapter 6. Defining and Illustrating Market Corrections.- Chapter 7. Empirical Evidence of Market Corrections to Solve Economic and Social Goals.- Chapter 8. An Assessment of and Ongoing Challenges for Market Corrections.- Part III. Implications for Economists and Policymakers.- Chapter 9. Implications for Economists.- Chapter 10. Implications for Public and Private Sector Policymakers.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Clifford Winston presents a bold and compelling study for why market corrections often succeed where government interventions fail. With clear analysis and strong empirical backing, this book challenges conventional economic thinking and provides a fresh perspective on how economies self-correct. A must-read for anyone interested in economic policy and governance.” (Magdalena Mosionek-Schweda, Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Lodz)