论政府的价格控制及其后果

On the Government's Price Control and its Consequences

传统经济理论认为,自由市场的"无形之手",与政府干预的"有形之手",往往并不能实现同一个目的。本文选取了几个西方历史上政府对价格控制的典型案例,分析了价格控制导致的福利损失。政府通常出于市场价格过高的缘故而对价格实行控制。其实,在某些情形下较高的市场价格可以通过市场的方式来解决,而不是诉诸于政府控制。这将对我国当前经济生活中政府对价格的控制提供一个新的参考视角。

Traditional economics theory considers that the free market＇s ＂invisible hand＂ and the government intervention＇s ＂visible hand＂, can not achieved the same purpose. Selecting a few representative cases in the Western history, in which the governments controlled prices. This paper analyses that price control leads to welfare losses. The author thinks that the too high prices is the reason that the government takes price control usually. In fact, under certain circumstances, the problem of higher market prices could rather be solved through market methods than through government control. This search will provide a new reference perspective for the government price controls on China＇s current economy life.