 ##  [Market Failure](/index.php/market-failure) 

  ##  [Market Failure](https://social.quantumdictionary.io/market-failure-0) 

  

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**Social Sciences Dictionary**

 







 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

Definition

A situation in which an unregulated market outcome fails to achieve an allocatively efficient (Pareto‑efficient) allocation of resources because private incentives do not align with social costs or benefits; typical causes include externalities, public goods, information asymmetries, transaction costs, and market power.