Introduction to Policy: Market vs. Polis and Efficiency

Vocabulary flashcards defining key policy models, market definitions, economic terms, and examples from the lecture.

Polis

An ancient Greek word for a city-state; Deborah Stone's model of political society, defined as an entity small enough to have a simple form of organization yet large enough to embody essential elements of politics.

Market

A social system in which individuals pursue their own self-interest and welfare by exchanging goods and services whenever trades are mutually beneficial.

Efficiency

A primary goal for government and key evaluative criterion in policy analysis defined as getting the most for the least.

Pareto Efficiency

A pattern of production and consumption where it is not possible to make anyone better off without making someone worse off.

Pareto Improvement

A transaction or step in a market that makes at least one person better off without making anyone else worse off.

Pareto Optimality

The end state in a market where no further win-win transactions are possible, meaning no individual can be made better off without making at least one person worse off.

Intrinsic Value

The quality of being valuable for its own sake as an ultimate goal, such as well-being or justice.

Instrumental Value

The quality of being valuable as a means to an end or a tool used to achieve an intrinsic value, such as efficiency, money, or health.

Market Failure

Commonly occurring circumstances of private cooperation wherein the conditions of perfect competition do not hold, resulting in an inefficient pattern of production and consumption.

Negative Externality

The harmful spillover impact of production or consumption activities on non-consenting third parties, creating a scenario where total transaction costs exceed the private benefits.

Pigovian Tax

A tax levied by the government to raise the price of a good to the level it would reach under perfect competition, with revenue used to address negative externalities.

Smithfield Agreement

A 25-year agreement established in 2000 between North Carolina and Smithfield requiring funding for research and environmental grants to attempt replacing the hog waste lagoon and spray field system.

Five Goals for Government

The five central criteria outlined in Deborah Stone's framework that guide government rationale and policy evaluation: equity, efficiency, welfare, liberty, and security.