Mixed economy

Also called a dual economy, in a broad sense it includes a mixture of a capitalist market economy and a socialist planned economy (partial planning of a capitalist market economy, and partial introduction of a market economy into a socialist planned economy), but in a narrower and more general sense it refers to an economic state in which, while based on the capitalist market economy, economic activity in the private sector is complemented by economic activity in the public sector, and the proportion of the public sector, such as finances and public and state-run enterprises, in the national economy is increasing. After World War II, advanced capitalist countries have been in a state of mixed economy due to the introduction of Keynesian policies.

Laissez-faire, which has been considered an ideal since the establishment of the capitalist economy, is expected to ensure the free economic activity of private economic entities, and that the efficient use of resources and the economic welfare of the people will naturally be achieved through the function of prices in a free competitive market, with the government's role being limited to national defense and the judiciary, and intervention in economic activity being avoided as much as possible. However, in the 20th century, as markets became oligopolistic and the function of prices became imperfect, problems such as inequality in income distribution, mass unemployment, and inefficient resource use became more serious. The Great Depression of 1929 in particular demonstrated that capitalism could not resolve these contradictions autonomously under a laissez-faire system.

In this context, Keynesian economics accepted the argument that the government needed to actively intervene in economic activity to resolve these contradictions, and this was attempted through the New Deal policy in the United States. After the Second World War, Keynesian policies were generally adopted in advanced capitalist countries, and full employment was achieved by creating effective demand through public investment funded by national finances, and income inequality was corrected by redistributing income through progressive tax systems and social security systems (social insurance, public assistance, social welfare). As a result, the weight of the public sector in the national economy increased. Furthermore, the expansion of government spending due to so-called "market failures," such as the provision of public goods (public safety, firefighting, etc.) that cannot be excluded from use by those who do not bear the costs, the nationalization and publicization of cost-reducing businesses that require large-scale fixed capital investment, and the shifting of costs not borne by the market, such as pollution control, to the public sector, expanded the weight of the public sector in government fiscal spending and economic activity to the extent that it was called "big government." As a result, after the first oil shock, developed countries experienced stagflation, a period of simultaneous economic stagnation and inflation, and were hit by a fiscal crisis. In the 1980s, they began to implement measures such as reducing government spending, privatizing public services, and relaxing or abolishing various government regulations, in an effort to realize a "small government."

[Shuta Sasaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

二重経済dual economyともいい、広義には、資本主義的市場経済と社会主義的計画経済の混合（資本主義市場経済の部分的計画化、社会主義計画経済への部分的な市場経済導入）を含めるが、狭義かつ一般的には、資本主義の市場経済組織を基本としつつも、民間部門の経済活動が公共部門の経済活動によって補完され、国民経済のなかで財政や公営・国営企業などの公共部門の占める割合が増大している経済状態をいう。第二次世界大戦後の先進資本主義国は、ケインズ政策の導入により混合経済の状態にある。

　資本主義経済の成立期以来理想とされてきた自由放任主義では、民間の経済主体の自由な経済活動を保証すれば、自由競争市場における価格の機能によって、資源の効率的利用と国民の経済的厚生が自然に達成されうるものと期待され、政府の役割は国防や司法などに限定し、経済活動への介入は極力回避すべきものとされていた。しかし、20世紀に入り、市場が寡占化され価格の機能が不完全になるとともに、所得配分の不平等や大量の失業、さらに資源利用の非効率化などの問題が深刻化してきた。とくに1929年の大恐慌は、自由放任体制のままでは資本主義がこれらの矛盾を自律的に解決しえないことを示したのである。

　こうした事態を背景に、これらの矛盾の解決には、政府の経済活動への積極的介入が必要であるとするケインズ経済学の主張が受け入れられ、アメリカのニューディール政策によってそれが試行された。第二次世界大戦後には、先進資本主義国でケインズ政策が一般的に採用され、国家財政による公共投資など有効需要の創出によって完全雇用を達成し、累進制の租税制度と社会保障制度（社会保険、公的扶助、社会福祉）を通じた所得の再配分によって所得の不平等の是正を実行しようとした結果、国民経済に占める公共部門の比重が増大した。さらに、費用負担をしない者の利用を排除できない公共財（治安、消防等）の提供、大規模固定資本投資を必要とする費用逓減(ていげん)事業の国営・公営化、公害対策等の市場で負担されない費用の公共部門への転嫁など、いわゆる「市場の失敗」による政府支出の拡大によって、「大きな政府」といわれるほどに、政府の財政支出や経済活動における公共部門の比重が膨張した。その結果、第一次オイル・ショック後に、景気の停滞とインフレーションが同時におこるスタグフレーションが発生し、財政危機にみまわれた先進諸国では、1980年代に入り、財政支出の縮小、公的事業の民営化、政府による各種規制の緩和や撤廃などが実施され、「小さな政府」の実現が図られている。

［佐々木秀太］

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