Community, market and government

Many important human activities take place in the community and are not mediated by the price mechanism through the market. People give to charities, donate blood, join environmental movements, engage in discussion on the internet that shape public opinions. This unit first discusses how community affects the provision of social insurance and redistribution; public health outcomes; effectiveness of law enforcement; and the governance of common pool resources. It then discusses the interactions between community, market, and government. This will be done through examining issues such as fair trade and consumer activism; public policy and charitable giving; the relationship between public policies, social interaction and public health outcomes; social influence and polarisation online and offline. It concludes with a discussion on community failure vis-a-vis-market failure and government failure.