(Major Schools of Economic Thought) This theory was born from the crucible of a Great Depression and a World War. Chicago theorists vehemently disagreed. They made the argument that the wealth of nation's increase when the market is allowed to naturally price goods and services. Spending would unnaturally change the prices of these goods, thus changing the reaction of the market to the goods, causing a misallocation of wealth or goods.

According to the Chicago theorists, the role of a government was to make sure individual rights were not trodden upon during market interactions and to mitigate the damage of neighborhood effects. Neighborhood effects are defined by Milton Friedman, the godfather of Chicago Economists, as when, "the action of one individual imposes significant costs on other individuals for which it is not feasible to make him compensate them or yields significant gains to them for which it is not feasible...
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