The role of the state in the economy is an issue that is central both in practice and in theory. At the same time, the fundamental approaches to solving this issue proposed by some scientific schools have significant differences. On the one hand, liberal economists adhere to the position of minimalism of the state's role in regulating the economy. And some scientific schools substantiate the need for active state intervention in market processes. Finding the optimal scale of state regulation is quite difficult. Therefore, it follows from history that in some countries there were periods when both the first and the second points of view prevailed.
The role of the state in the economy is determined by considering it as a subject of management that ensures the organization of the functioning of all elements of a certain socio-economic system. The state, acting as a public representative as a whole, establishes the rules for the interaction of other economic agents with the exercise of control over theircompliance.
The role of the state in a market-type economy is reduced to the priority right of coercion, enshrined in law. It finds its implementation in the form of a system of sanctions that are applied in case of violation of the current legislation in the form of a relevant regulatory act. When considering the role of the state in another aspect, one can see its reflection in the form of an equal business entity simultaneously with private firms, since it is in the person of enterprises that they produce certain types of goods or provide services.
The place and role of the state in the Russian economy from the position of practical application can be considered on the basis of its interaction with the market mechanism. State regulation of the economy is necessary when a situation arises in which the result of the influence of market forces is not effective enough from the standpoint of society. In other words, government intervention in the economy is justified only if the market does not ensure the optimal use of resources by the public interest. These situations are called market failures, which include:
- Adoption of legislative acts and control over their execution and observance of property rights with contractual obligations.
- The distribution of resources and the provision of public goods in the process of production of these same resources. Public goods are characterized by certain properties. First, the so-called noncompetitivenesswhich the lack of competition among consumers for the right to enjoy these goods is explained by the increase in the number of consumers without reducing the utility available to each of them. Secondly, it is non-excludability, which provides for limiting the access of an individual consumer or an entire group to benefits due to difficulties.
The role of the state in the economy depends not only on objective factors, but can also be determined by some political processes or public choice. At the same time, in some liberal countries, state influence on the economy cannot be limited only to compensating for traditional market failures.
It should be noted that the role of the state in a mixed economy is characterized by inefficiency not only of the market component of the mechanism. Some expansion of the regulatory function of the state and the volume of resources under its control, above a certain limit, negatively affects the economic situation.
