International Economic Justice and National Responsibility: Strategies for Economic Development in the Post Cold War World

摘要

The end of the Cold War has eroded confidence in the socialist paradigm and in the role of government intervention in the economy. Reviewing successive theoretical approaches to the study of governments and markets is therefore vitally necessary. Thepaper notes that Adam Smith's pro-market approach was countered by the Lange--Taylor--Lemer conjecture that public ownership could be equally effective, but that subsequently the efficiency of government came under attack from a number of perspectives. These included poor incentives, the ability of the private sector to offset government action and the appearance of rent-seeking activities. More recently, views about the efficiency of markets have again been challenged, especially because of the imperfect information problem, while support of government activity has resulted from the success of some public interventions in the East Asian "miracle" countries. The paper concludes that national governments in developing countries have two essential roles:a regulatory one, which can be made more-efficient by the use of objective performance criteria; and a role in the provision of safety nets. The international community must also play its part, providing access to educational institutions and access tomarkets.