ABSTRACT
What distinguishes the public from the private sectors of the economy? Activities in the private sector may be for profit or not for profit, but are carried out voluntarily by individuals and groups in the market-place. Public sector activities may or may not use the market-place but are decided upon through a political process. In this case, the group is called government and our participation is not voluntary in the same sense that it is in the private sector. The two sectors interact. The private sector creates the wealth that is tapped by the public sector. However, the public sector has an essential role to play in creating the environment in which private economic agents can prosper.
