7. Empirical Evidence of Market Corrections to Address Economic and Social Goals

Market corrections that have occurred independently of government policies and improved social welfare include generating additional sources of competition to reduce alleged market power, advances in information technology, developing new innovations, increasing job opportunities and transportation access to labor markets, and technological innovations and new sources of competition that have improved alternatives for the public to obtain merit goods. Market corrections facilitated by government policy reforms include deregulation, which has greatly benefited consumers by increasing firms’ productivity and efficiency and technological advance, and the emergence of private companies, such as ridesharing, which are able to compete with public services. Market corrections that have the potential to produce large benefits include technological innovations to reduce the social costs of negative externalities and new actions to reduce discrimination toward all types of people.