Understanding the Private–Public Divide: Markets, Governments, and Time Horizons

Description

Markets are taken as the norm in economics and in much of political and media discourse. But if markets are superior why does the public sector remain so large? Avner Offer provides a distinctive new account of the effective temporal limits on private, public, and social activity. Understanding the Private–Public Divide accounts for the division of labour between business and the public sector, how it changes over time, where the boundaries ought to run, and the harm that follows if they are violated. He explains how finance forces markets to focus on short-term objectives and why business requires special privileges in return for long-term commitment. He shows how a private sector policy bias leads to inequality, insecurity, and corruption. Integrity used to be the norm and it can be achieved again. Only governments can manage uncertainty in the long-term interests of society, as shown by the challenge of climate change. 03.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page 04.0_pp_v_vi_Dedication 05.0_pp_vii_vii_Contents 06.0_pp_viii_ix_Figures 07.0_pp_x_x_Tables 08.0_pp_xi_xii_Preface 09.0_pp_xiii_xiv_Abbreviations 10.0_pp_1_10_Introduction 11.0_pp_11_42_Patient_Capital 12.0_pp_43_56_Corruption_and_Integrity 13.0_pp_57_77_Plutocratic_Blowback 14.0_pp_78_87_Creating_Humans 15.0_pp_88_116_Exit_from_Work 16.0_pp_117_146_Housing_and_Democracy 17.0_pp_147_170_Climate_Change_and_Time_Horizons 18.0_pp_171_176_Conclusion 19.0_pp_177_219_References 20.0_pp_220_228_Index