Market foundations

An overview of the ICAEW’s new programme of work looking at some of the foundations of market activity

Market activity is the means by which society benefits from the comparative advantages held by the individuals within it. Society benefits when markets are efficient and when they deliver desired public policy outcomes. 

Such markets will have as their foundations: participants (whether as principals, agents or advisers) that can trust and be trusted; accepted, predictable and transparent standards of behaviour; and effective and efficient mechanisms to intervene in the markets where needed to correct the behaviour.

Those foundations have often built up in markets in an ad-hoc fashion: can they be improved to enhance market effectiveness and efficiency further?

Areas of examination will include:

• what the public interest is
• the role of professionalism in society
• whether the rights and obligations of some types of legal entity are more effective than others

We will also be taking forward existing work on:

• ethical behaviour
• regulation
• economic crime 

We have published a prospectus which discusses these issues in more detail. We value input and discussion at any level and appreciate input.