Government Failures

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses government failures in the area of economic development and considers whether political regimes sometimes put the overall welfare of the nation on the back burner in the face of pressure from interest groups. It looks at how there has been a spate of publications in recent years, which consider whether smaller countries are faced with peculiar disadvantages, making it more difficult for them to reach a level of affluence that is comparable with the largest economies of the world. It also discusses how the main focus of such literature is that, since smaller countries have restricted access to resources, both human and natural, they face an uphill battle to reach the levels of prosperity of nations with large labor forces, or vast stores of natural resources.

From the Paper:

"Another recently well-publicized situation, which may be termed "government failure", is in the realm of the environment. With much of the world's air pollution arising in the more affluent developed countries, there has been increasing pressure on the governments of these nations to take concrete steps to either reduce the emissions from their vehicles and factories, or to make the polluters pay for the emissions in the form of increased taxes. Such proposals are generally supported by the citizens of the developed nations, but are unwelcome for the owners of large industrial concerns as well as car makers, as they would seriously increase their costs and hence reduce their profits."

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