The Government Often Intervenes When Private Markets Fail to Provide

question 19

Essay

The government often intervenes when private markets fail to provide an optimal level of certain goods and services. For example, the government imposes an excise tax on gasoline to account for the negative externality that drivers impose on one another. Why might the private market not reach the socially optimal level of traffic without the help of government?

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Definitions:

Voting Rules

Regulations and procedures that govern how votes are cast, counted, and managed in an election, often varying significantly between different countries and types of elections.

Property Requirement

A historical legal or political stipulation that only individuals who own property or meet certain wealth criteria are eligible to vote or hold public office.

International Slave Trade

refers to the historical trade of enslaved people across international borders, particularly from Africa to the Americas, from the 16th to the 19th century.

Constitution

The basic rules and long-standing customs by which a government or another entity operates.