Government Intervention Government intervention in the market has had its ups and downs in both Europe and the United States. Extraordinary events such as ward and depressions have been followed by calls for governmental action to alter the behavior of the market. The Great Depression metamorphosed the concept of market and state, and for awhile left no room for dissent against intervention. Unorthodox economic policies came into vogue. However, in the absence of wars and depressions the United States has had lower levels of government market intervention whether measured as TSC percent of GDP, ownership of resources, or number of regulations.
Taxation gives birth to the bureaucracy that collects and administers the taxes.
In Europe, political development preceded economic development, while in the United States the opposite was true. The impact is especially important in the formative years of political and industrial development. Intervention in the US economy through anti-trust legislation followed the growth of big business. In the US, state intervention was viewed as corrective rather than regulatory of business behavior. American deregulation and regulatory reforms are today emulated around the globe.