Chapter 8 Impediments to Growth Regulation and Government Ownership

Few would argue that economic growth is the sole aim of society or, as conventionally measured, it is always an unmitigated blessing. Development can brings with it a degradation of the environment and the narrowing of ecological diversity. Certain industries, although not many, are natural monopolies or at best unstable oligopolies feared by the public as taking advantage of their privileged position. People often want the government to banish risks from new products and dangers in the workplace. All of these desires and the political pressures they create lie behind the humongous extension of governmental regulatory programs.