The Decisive Role of the Market in Resource Allocation

At the third plenary session held in November 2013, the 18th CPC Central Committee stated that the market should play a decisive role in resource allocation. Letting the market determine resource allocation is a general law of economics, and it is also the essence of a market economy. So the process of refining a socialist market economy must abide by this law.

Efforts are needed to address such problems as the imperfections in the market system, excessive government interventions, and supervision that falls short, so as to maximize benefits and optimize efficiency by promoting the mechanisms which rely on the market to allocate resources.

The idea of letting the market play a decisive role in resource allocation is a continuation and extension of the concept of letting it play a “fundamental role,” a concept which had been used for the previous 20 years. This new formulation helps the entire Party and entire society to correctly understand the relationship between the government and the market; it helps transform the mode of economic development; it helps transform government functions; and it helps constrain negativity and corruption.

The market is, of course, an “invisible hand” as well as a “merciless whip.” It creates competition and initiative in socioeconomic activities, but at the same time, its spontaneity and blindness can result in market failures, making it necessary for the government’s “visible hand” to play a role. The government’s responsibility and function are primarily to maintain macroeconomic stability, to improve and optimize public services, to ensure fair competition, to strengthen market oversight, to maintain market order, to foster sustainable development, and to promote joint prosperity, thereby compensating for market failures.

To let the market play the decisive role in resource allocation and the government play its role better – this is a major issue both in theory and practice. An accurate understanding of this issue is significant to furthering reform and promoting the sound and orderly development of the socialist market economy.

市場在資源配置中起決定性作用

2013年11月召開的中共十八屆三中全會提出，使市場在資源配置中起決定性作用。市場決定資源配置是市場經濟的一般規律，市場經濟本質上就是市場決定資源配置的經濟。健全社會主義市場經濟體制必須遵循這條規律，著力解決市場體系不完善、政府干預過多和監管不到位問題，推動資源配置依據市場機制實現效益最大化和效率最優化。做出“使市場在資源配置中起決定性作用”的定位，是對此前沿用20多年的“使市場在資源配置中起基礎性作用”這一提法的繼承和發展，有利于在全黨全社會樹立關于政府和市場關系的正確觀念，有利于轉變經濟發展方式、轉變政府職能，有利于抑制消極腐敗現象。當然，市場這只“無形的手”在使整個社會經濟活動更加活躍的同時，也會由于其自發性、盲目性造成市場失靈，需要政府這只“有形的手”來發揮作用。政府的職責和作用主要是保持宏觀經濟穩定，加強和優化公共服務，保障公平競爭，加強市場監管，維護市場秩序，推動可持續發展，促進共同富裕。使市場在資源配置中起決定性作用、更好發揮政府作用，既是一個重大理論命題，又是一個重大實踐命題?？茖W認識這一命題，準確把握其內涵，對全面深化改革、推動社會主義市場經濟健康有序發展具有重大意義。