Arthur C. Pigou

Jul 24, 2024 | econtalk.org | Amy Willis |Arthur C. Pigou |Ronald Coase

For all those who have taken an economics course, you’ve no doubt heard plenty about market failure. I suspect you’ve heard relatively less about government failure. Part of the allure of the public choice tradition for me has always been its very clear explication of the latter. But in this episode, leave it to perennial favorite Mike Munger to put a wrinkle in my contemplative ease.

Jul 17, 2024 | econlib.org | Jon Murphy |Arthur C. Pigou |Kevin Corcoran |David Henderson

In just about any economics textbook, one will find a discussion of market failure. The conversation will usually go something like this: markets are great, but sometimes they fail. If transaction costs are low, then no government remedy is needed. But if transaction costs are high, then the government can (and should) step in to correct the failure. One of the most common methods advocated to correct a market failure is the original from British economist Arthur C. Pigou: taxes.