markkinahäviöiden

Markkinahäviö, known in English as market failure, refers to a situation where the allocation of goods and services by a free market is not efficient. This means that the market does not produce the optimal outcome in terms of social welfare. Several factors can lead to market failure, including externalities, public goods, information asymmetry, and market power.

Externalities occur when the production or consumption of a good or service affects a third party who is not directly involved in the transaction. Positive externalities, such as vaccination, benefit society beyond the individual consumer, while negative externalities, like pollution, impose costs on others. Public goods are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning that once provided, they cannot be withheld from anyone, and one person's consumption does not diminish another's ability to consume them. Examples include national defense and street lighting.

Information asymmetry arises when one party in a transaction has more or better information than the other. This can lead to adverse selection or moral hazard. Market power, such as monopolies or oligopolies, allows firms to influence prices and output to their own advantage, rather than reflecting true social costs and benefits.

Governments often intervene to correct market failures through various policies, such as taxes, subsidies, regulations, and direct provision of goods and services. The goal of these interventions is to move the market towards a more efficient allocation of resources.