Informing Public Policy: Analyzing Contemporary US and International Policy Issues through the Lens of Market Process Economics

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Published by Bloomsbury Publishing in Economy, Polity, and Society

Market process theory illustrates how the market is the most effective institution for overcoming the knowledge problem. Specifically, the institutional characteristics of private property, monetary prices, and the disciplining mechanisms of profit and loss, guide actors to utilize knowledge dispersed among society, to allocate resources effectively, and to adjust their behavior when errors occur to provide valuable goods and services to society. The chapters in this manuscript explore, through applications to issues within the United States and internationally, contemporary issues in public policy through the theoretical framework of knowledge problems and market process economics.

Utilizing this approach, as well as other fundamental insights from economics, these chapters aim to illustrate how individuals in society address pressing public issues, the problems faced by policymakers, and the potential for novel solutions to policy challenges. Authored by individuals from a variety of disciplines with interests in public policy, this work includes discussions of education, child welfare, urban planning, and U.S. healthcare policy, as well as topics in e-commerce, the Global War on Terror, international trade, and economic development.

Contents

Introduction
Stefanie Haeffele, Abigail R. Hall, and Adam Millsap

Chapter 1: The Knowledge Problem and Policy
Donald J. Boudreuax

Chapter 2: Who Plans? Jane Jacobs' Hayekian Critique of Urban Planning
M. Nolan Gray

Chapter 3: The Knowledge Problem and Education Finance
Michael Crouch

Chapter 4: Child Welfare Administration and the Knowledge Problem: Centralization versus Decentralization
Neil McCray

Chapter 5: Market and Government Failures in Healthcare Allocation and Reform
Cortnie Shupe

Chapter 6: How E-Commerce Alleviates the Knowledge Problem of the Online Markets
Eleni Galata Bickell

Chapter 7: Sales Taxes: An Application of Political Efficiencies in Inefficient Taxes
Adam N. Michel

Chapter 8: Is it Worth It? The Effect of ODA, NGOs, and Time on Local Politics in the Haitian State
Anthony J. DeMattee

Chapter 9: De-risking and the Knowledge Problem: The Unseen Consequences of Financial Sanctions
Enea Gjoza

Chapter 10: Regulatory Adaptiveness as a Response to the Knowledge Problem: The Case of Tianjin China
James H. Ruhland