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

by Avner Offer

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.

Genres: Economics, Politics

200 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2022

About the author

Avner Offer is an Economic historian who currently holds the Chichele Professorship in Economic history at the University of Oxford, England. He is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and of the British Academy. He specializes in international political economy, law, the First World War and land tenure. Over the past decade Professor Offer's main interest has been in post-war economic growth, particularly in affluent societies, and the challenges that this affluence presents to well being.

Reviews

[Klejton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very strong first chapter but it falls off the cliff after that. Quite clearly he is best suited to write about economic history but in the latter chapters he to do some sociology which seems amateurish.

[Grant Dalton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly and frustratingly argued - neat and original idea but didn't properly address the opposing arguments or get into detail on some of the consequences.