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2019 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

The role of government and trust in the market economy

verfasst von : Nadja König, Ludger Schuknecht

Erschienen in: The Authority of EU Law

Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

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Abstract

This paper studies the role of governments and its link to trust. We argue that the public’s trust strongly depends on governments delivering on their core tasks in a market economy. In some economies, a neglect of core tasks can be observed and there seems to be some erosion, notably in terms of securing sound rules of the game in industrialised countries. We find very little correlation between government expenditure and trust but a strong correlation with delivering on core tasks. This leads us to conclude that it is not government spending per se that needs to increase to build trust, but rather better focused government activities.

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These examples show in fact that the conceptual distinction between rules of the game and public goods that complement the rule-setting role of government is rather fluid. Good laws make no sense without police and justice. There can be no environmental protection without an agency to enforce it.

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Titel: The role of government and trust in the market economy
verfasst von: Nadja König
Ludger Schuknecht
Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Buch: The Authority of EU Law
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-58840-6

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-662-58841-3

Copyright-Jahr: 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-58841-3_30