The role of the state in the economy is a question that is central both in practice and in theory. At the same time, the basic approaches proposed by some scientific schools to solving this issue have significant differences. On the one hand, liberal economists adhere to the position of minimalism of the state role in regulating the economy. And some scientific schools justify the need for active government intervention in market processes. It is rather difficult to find the optimal scale of state regulation. Therefore, it follows from history that in some countries there were periods when both the first and second points of view prevailed.
The role of the state in the economy is determined by considering it as a management entity, ensuring the organization of the functioning of all elements of a 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 implementation of control to comply with them.
The role of the state in a market 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 an appropriate 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 some types of goods or provide services.
The place and role of the state in the Russian economy from the perspective 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 market forces is not effective enough from the position of society. In other words, state intervention in the economy is recognized justified only if the market does not ensure the optimal use of resources on the part of public interests. These situations are called market failures, which include:
- Adoption of legislative acts and control over their implementation and observance of property rights with contractual obligations.
- The distribution of resources and the provision of public goods in the production process of these resources themselves. Public goods are characterized by certain properties. Firstly, the so-called non-competitiveness, in which the lack of competition between consumers for the right to use these benefits is explained by an increase in the number of consumers without reducing the utility available to each of them. Secondly, it is non-exclusivity, which provides for the restriction of 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 compensation for market failures of a traditional kind.
It should be noted that the role of the state in a mixed economy is characterized by the inefficiency of not only the market component of the mechanism. A certain 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.
