The Free Market: A Utopia Without a State Framework?

La liberté du marché, une utopie sans un cadre fixé par l’État ?

Jérôme Baray ()
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Jérôme Baray: ARGUMans - Laboratoire de recherche en gestion Le Mans Université - UM - Le Mans Université

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Abstract: This article questions the widespread assumption that markets operate spontaneously through the sole interaction of supply and demand. Drawing on examples from energy, infrastructure, housing, and finance, it argues that contemporary markets rely on a dense set of public rules, guarantees, and interventions that shape both their existence and stability. The analysis highlights the role of price regulation, concessions, and long-term guarantees in reducing economic uncertainty and supporting large-scale investments. It also shows that competition itself is often the result of institutional design rather than a spontaneous process. In sectors characterized by natural monopolies, introducing competition may paradoxically create private rents based on infrastructures that have been collectively financed. The article concludes that the traditional opposition between market and state is frequently misleading and that the key issue concerns the forms of regulation required for markets to function rather than the simple extent of public intervention.

Keywords: Energy; Competition; State; Public intervention; Regulation; Free market; Natural monopoly; Price regulation; Concessions; Public-private partnerships; Infrastructure; Market failures; Political economy; Economic governance; Marché libre; Gouvernance économique; Économie politique; Défaillances de marché; Infrastructures; Énergie; Partenariats public-privé; Tarification; Monopole naturel; Concurrence; État; Intervention publique; Régulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-26
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Published in The Conversation France, 2026, ⟨10.64628/AAK.3y3e6kayw⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05633511

DOI: 10.64628/AAK.3y3e6kayw

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