THE、ROLE、OF GOVERNMENT IN THE、ECONOMY
1 Because most people do not volunteer to pay taxes or police their own financial affairs, governments cannot influence economic activity simply by asking people to pollute less, to give money to the poor, or to be innovative. To accomplish these things, governments have to pass laws. Since the early twentieth century, governments of countries with advanced industrial or service economies have been playing an increasing role in economics. This can be seen in the growth of government taxation and spending, in the growing share of national income devoted to income-support payments, and by the enormous increase in the control of economic activity.
2 The large-scale organization of business, as seen in mass production and distribution, has led to the formation of large-scale organizations--corporations, labor unions, and government structures--that have grown in importance in the past several decades. Their presence and growing dominance have shifted capitalist economies away from traditional market forces and toward government administration of markets.
3 In the United States, government provides a framework of laws for the conduct of economic activity that attempt to make it serve the public interest. For instance, the individual states and the federal government have passed laws to shield investors against frauD、These laws specify what information has to be disclosed to prospective investors when shares of stocks or bonds are offered for sale.Another important area of law concerns the labor force, such as regulation of work hours, minimum wages, health and safety conditions, child labor, and the rights of workers to form unions, to strike, to demonstrate peacefully, and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.
4 In other nations, the ways in which governments intervene in their economies have varied; however, governments everywhere deal with essentially the same issues and participate in economic activity.Even governments that are reluctant to regulate commerce directly have undertaken large-scale projects such as hydroelectric and nuclear energy developments, transportation networks, or expansion of health, education, and other public services.
According to the passage, governments intervene in economic activity mainly byA．asking people not to pollute
B．requiring innovation
C．passing laws
D．producing goods and services