This highly unique book takes a fundamental look at when and how a government can fail at its core responsibility of formulating rules. Government, representing society, relates to the economy by formulating the rules within which (market) players should operate. Although market and business failure are much discussed in the economics literature, government failure is often overlooked. This book addresses this gap, exploring in detail what constitutes government failure.

Wilfred Dolfsma illustrates that it is not adequate to discuss government failure simply with reference to its level of expenditure, as is usually the case. Defining government failure and analysing it in the domains of health care, innovation and technology, he explores topics such as how market and society relate, consequences of conflicts between government policies, how government should (not) intervene, the vulnerability of institutions and rules (set out by government), and suggests a welfare perspective for evaluative purposes.

This stimulating and thought provoking book will prove a fascinating read for academics, researchers and advanced students in economics - particularly public choice and institutional economics - public administration, policy studies, and law and economics.

Contents:
1. Introducing Government Failure
2. How Market and Society Relate
3. The G-Factor: Weighing the Visible Hand of Government Intervention with Killian McCarthy and Tao Zhu
4. Government Policy: Private Incentives, Public Virtues?
5. Government Failure
6. Policy Conflicts: The Case of Healthcare
7. Government Failure, IPRs and Economic Development
8. A Confused Market: Divergent Routes to Implementing Market-Oriented Reform in Healthcare
9. Vulnerability of Institutions and Rules
10. Establishing Government Failure or Success: A Dynamic Welfare Perspective
11. Conclusions: Market, Business and Government
References
Index