The Market Revolution and its limits summarises why many economists believe that markets are best. It explores how even 'market failures' can be given market solutions, and asks why market ideas seem to have taken such a firm hold. Non-polemical in its approach, this book provides a comprehensive appraisal of the market and its alternatives, backed up with empirical international illustrations.
Shipman concludes that the 'revolution' lies in redefining the market process rather than the market outcome.

Introduction: the market revolution 1 What markets are 2 Markets as efficient allocators 3 Markets as the route to full employment 4 Markets as engines of growth 5 Markets as information processors 6 The negotiated alternative: relational transaction 7 Mediated alternatives: administered and informed transaction 8 The firm: redesigning the market 9 The international market 10 Market rewards: the distribution of income 11 Disinventing government: the state goes on sale 12 Conclusion: its limits

Alan Shipman is a freelance economist and economic journalist.