The government’s policy for economic progress should include

A very important policy that governments can undertake to boost development is to provide public goods that contribute to economic growth and prosperity. One such public good is the economic infrastructure, including a physical infrastructure of roads, railroads, airports, utilities, ports and the like, which are necessary to allow trade and exchange; and such economic institutions as financial and monetary systems, which permit people to make payments and investments easily. A social infrastructure too, of public health and sanitation, education and urban planning, can encourage growth and development by allowing citizens to focus their efforts on economic activity in a productive way. In contrast, if the government does not build and maintain roads and schools, impedes normal banking operations, allows prices to spiral out of control, and fails to control diseases and social problems, it is hard to imagine how the economy can develop. Another critical function for government is to ensure the security of property. After all, economic growth requires everyone, from farmers to factory owners, to invest in improving their ability to produce, and such improvements are unlikely to be made if property rights are not safe. Secure property rights, which people in developed countries take for granted, mean that a property owner can be confident that his or her material goods will not be seized arbitrarily. A commitment to protect private property is not necessarily something that benefits only the rich; in most poor societies, the principal property owners are farmers.