On the difficulties of addressing collective concerns through markets: from market devices to accountability devices

Abstract

In recent years market-based interventions have been positioned as the basis for addressing what the editors of this special issue have termed ‘collective concerns’ in fields as diverse as healthcare, the environment and crime. This paper considers the terms of such interventions and the market-like relations these terms pre-suppose. It does so through a comparison of two interventions: a market-based scheme to address concerns regarding electronic waste and a Social Impact Bond for children at-risk of going into care. Ideas from Science and Technology Studies are drawn on to explore the composition of market-based interventions, the terms established through accountability devices which decide on who and what gets to participate, and the consequences that follow.