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1、10.ATAXONOMYOFFAILUREAsfarasIcantell,thefirsteconomisttousethephrase“marketfailure”wasFrancisBator,whoisnowanemeritusprofessorofeconomicsatHarvard’sJohnF.KennedySchoolofGovernment.Between1964and1967,BatorservedasadeputynationalsecurityadvisertoPresid
2、entLyndonJohnson.HealsoworkedasaconsultantforthedepartmentsofTreasuryandState,andhewasthefoundingchairmanoftheKennedySchool’spublicpolicyprogram.Bator’smajorcontributiontoeconomicscameinthelate1950s,whenasayoungmemberoftheMITfacultyhewroteapairofmemo
3、rablearticlesonthelimitsoffreemarketeconomics.Thefirstone,whichappearedintheMarch1957issueofTheAmericanEconomicReview,providedaclearanddigestibleexpositionofgeneralequilibriumtheory.Evenforeconomistswithstrongmathematicaltraining,theoriginalworkofArr
4、owandDebreuwasheavygoing.BatordistilleditintofortypagesofEnglish.Withtheaidofsomefairlysimplediagrams,heshowedhow,undercertainconditions,afreemarketsystemgeneratedaPareto-efficientoutcome.Fiftyyearsafteritspublication,thearticleremainsperhapsthemostp
5、ainlessintroductiontothepuretheoryoftheinvisiblehand.Bator’ssecondpaperappearedinTheQuarterlyJournalofEconomicsinAugust1958.Entitled“TheAnatomyofMarketFailure,”itexaminedthecircumstancesinwhichthetheorieshehadpreviouslyoutlineddidn’tapply—caseswheret
6、hefreemarketallocationsystemwouldfail“tosustain‘desirable’activitiesortostop‘undesirable’activities.”BatorbeganbypointingoutthattheworldisfullofthingsthatviolatetheassumptionsoftheArrow-Debreumodel:“imperfectinformation,inertiaandresistancetochange,t
7、heinfeasibilityofcostlesslump-sumtaxes,businessmen’sdesirefora‘quietlife,’uncertaintyandinconsistentexpectations,thevagariesofaggregatedemand,etc.”Someofthesephenomena,suchasinertiaandthedesireforpeaceandquiet,mightseemabitarbitrary,butuncertaintyand
8、imperfectinformationarefundamentalfeaturesofanyeconomy.Theyemanatefromthesecondlawofthermodynamics,commonlyreferredtoas“time’sarrow.”Sincetimedoesn’trunbackward,thefutureisunknownandbusinesses,investors,andconsumersarecompelledtomakedecisionsonthebas
