Public Policy and the Quality of Life

This volume argues that the virtues of the market system, private property, and freedom of exchange can be applied to enhance the quality of life. Although people recognize in the abstract that markets work better than government in allocating resources, government's presence in the economy increases as government intervenes to deal with different problems. This book shows how the market mechanism that has enhanced material well-being is better suited than government planning to improve the quality of life. After examining general principles guiding both market and government allocation of resources, the book then examines specific policy issues, including environmental protection, health care, regulation of product quality, and land use planning.

The book first examines the general principles that guide both market and government allocation of resources to show why market mechanisms work better than government planning to enhance the quality of life. Then specific policy issues are examined to provide examples of how market forces can be harnessed to improve the quality of life. Some of those issues are environmental protection, health care, the regulation of product quality, and land use planning.

RANDALL G. HOLCOMBE is Professor of Economics at Florida State University. He is also chairman of the Research Advisory Council of the James Madison Institute for Public Policy Studies, a think tank that specializes in issues facing state governments. He is the author of six books, including most recently, Economic Models and Methodology (Greenwood, 1989) and The Economic Foundations of Government (1994).