Direct public provision
A public institution directly provides a service or infrastructure.
May work well when: the service has natural-monopoly features, universal access matters, or private supply is predictably thin
Common limits: poor management, politicized allocation, inflexible procurement, or weak feedback
Requires: capital, staff, operating budgets, service standards, appeals, and oversight
Example areas: schools, libraries, water systems, public health
Related guarantees: Education, Infrastructure, Health
Social insurance
People contribute to a pooled system that pays defined benefits when covered risks occur.
May work well when: risks are broad, predictable in a population, and difficult for individuals to bear alone
Common limits: solvency pressure, eligibility boundaries, payroll effects, administrative error
Requires: a contribution base, benefit rules, reserves or financing, records, and adjudication
Example areas: retirement, disability, unemployment, health coverage
Related guarantees: Life’s risks, Health, Care
Tax credits
The tax system reduces liability or makes payments for qualifying expenses or conditions.
May work well when: eligibility can be measured through tax administration and recipients can use flexible assistance
Common limits: delay, complexity, non-filer exclusion, fraud, and help that does not create supply
Requires: clear eligibility, refundability decisions, data matching, and accessible filing
Example areas: family support, education, housing, work incentives
Related guarantees: Care, Housing, Education
Grants
A government funds states, localities, institutions, households, or projects for a defined purpose.
May work well when: local variation matters and outcomes can be specified without one national delivery model
Common limits: fragmentation, compliance burden, weak evaluation, or inequitable grant-writing capacity
Requires: fair allocation, monitoring, technical support, and renewal rules
Example areas: infrastructure, training, housing construction, climate resilience
Related guarantees: Infrastructure, Housing, Education
Regulation
Public rules set minimum duties, prohibited practices, standards, or market conditions.
May work well when: harm can be defined and prevented more efficiently than repaired case by case
Common limits: capture, outdated rules, compliance burden, evasion, or barriers to entry
Requires: legal authority, expertise, inspection, adjudication, and revision
Example areas: workplace safety, privacy, utilities, product standards
Related guarantees: Work, Digital rights, Environment
Enforcement
Investigators, inspectors, prosecutors, or private actions make existing rules meaningful.
May work well when: violations are detectable and remedies deter harm or make people whole
Common limits: underfunding, selective enforcement, delay, excessive discretion, and procedural unfairness
Requires: evidence, staffing, due process, penalties, remedies, and public reporting
Example areas: wage theft, fraud, civil rights, pollution
Related guarantees: Work, Citizenship, Consumers
Public options
A publicly administered option competes alongside private providers or plans.
May work well when: choice is weak, exit is costly, or a benchmark can discipline price and quality
Common limits: adverse selection, cross-subsidy, political pricing, and unclear competitive neutrality
Requires: transparent financing, eligibility, governance, capacity, and comparable reporting
Example areas: insurance, banking, broadband, retirement savings
Related guarantees: Health, Markets, Infrastructure
Procurement
Public purchasing conditions can shape product, labor, competition, security, and disclosure practices.
May work well when: government purchasing is large enough to set credible standards without closing markets
Common limits: favoritism, complexity, incumbent advantage, and goals unrelated to delivery
Requires: open competition, auditability, contract management, and remedy for bidders
Example areas: clean vehicles, labor standards, cybersecurity, small-business access
Related guarantees: Markets, Work, Environment
Antitrust and competition
Law and institutions constrain monopoly conduct and preserve competitive opportunity.
May work well when: entry, choice, bargaining power, and innovation are harmed by conduct or structure
Common limits: slow litigation, uncertain remedies, market-definition disputes, and overdeterrence
Requires: economic and legal capacity, merger review, remedies, and sector knowledge
Example areas: platforms, agriculture, health care, payments
Related guarantees: Fair markets, Digital rights, Work
Labor standards
Minimum rules protect pay, time, safety, classification, and equal treatment.
May work well when: workers cannot realistically negotiate essential terms one by one
Common limits: evasion, reduced hours or hiring, one-size rules, and weak enforcement
Requires: clear scope, records, enforcement, worker voice, and adjustment for context
Example areas: minimum pay, leave, scheduling, safety
Related guarantees: Good work, Care, Life’s risks
Collective bargaining
Workers negotiate terms through representative institutions rather than only individual contracts.
May work well when: workplace-specific knowledge and countervailing power improve voice and agreement
Common limits: conflict, representation disputes, rigidity, and unequal coverage
Requires: organizing rights, good-faith process, enforceable agreements, and democratic governance
Example areas: pay, benefits, training, technology at work
Related guarantees: Good work, Citizenship, Digital rights
State and local experimentation
Subnational governments test rules, services, and institutions suited to local authority and conditions.
May work well when: variation can reveal better designs and national uniformity is unnecessary
Common limits: unequal rights by ZIP code, spillovers, weak evaluation, and capacity gaps
Requires: baseline rights, transparent measures, learning networks, and fiscal support
Example areas: zoning, elections, utilities, care delivery
Related guarantees: Housing, Democracy, Infrastructure
Infrastructure investment
Long-lived public or regulated assets expand capacity and resilience.
May work well when: supply constraints or network effects cannot be solved with household assistance alone
Common limits: cost overruns, siting conflicts, delay, displacement, and maintenance neglect
Requires: planning, permits, finance, labor, community input, and lifecycle maintenance
Example areas: housing-enabling systems, grid, transit, broadband
Related guarantees: Environment, Housing, Markets
Disclosure and transparency
People and oversight bodies receive comparable information about price, risk, ownership, performance, or influence.
May work well when: information can change choice or enable enforcement without dictating a result
Common limits: information overload, strategic compliance, privacy harm, and weak remedies
Requires: standard definitions, accessible presentation, audit, privacy, and consequences for false statements
Example areas: fees, campaign money, algorithmic notices, product risk
Related guarantees: Consumers, Democracy, Markets
Default rules
A system selects a protective starting choice while preserving meaningful ability to opt out.
May work well when: inaction is common and the default can improve outcomes without eliminating choice
Common limits: paternalism, bad defaults, difficult exit, and manipulation by the rule designer
Requires: evidence, easy exit, notice, periodic review, and attention to distribution
Example areas: retirement enrollment, privacy, renewal, benefit enrollment
Related guarantees: Life’s risks, Digital rights, Work
Private and nonprofit institutions
Businesses, unions, cooperatives, charities, mutuals, and community groups provide services, organize voice, and create alternatives.
May work well when: plural institutions have knowledge, trust, capital, or innovative capacity the state lacks
Common limits: uneven access, mission drift, monopoly, discrimination, and accountability gaps
Requires: fair rules, transparency, governance, competition, and public backstops where needed
Example areas: cooperative housing, clinics, training, mutual insurance
Related guarantees: All guarantees