GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION: Actions on the part of government that affect economic activity, resource allocation, and especially the voluntary decisions made through normal market exchanges. Government, by its very nature, is designed to intervene in voluntary market activity. Some of the more common types of government intervention includes taxes, price controls, assorted regulations, and control over government spending. The general justification for government intervention is that voluntary decisions by consumers and businesses fail to achieve efficiency or other goals deemed important by society. See also | government | market | market failure | public choice | voluntary exchange | involuntary exchange | tax | price ceiling | price floor | regulation | fiscal policy | regulatory policy | efficiency | economic goals |
