本文中，朗阁老师将从经济学的角度论述政府存在的意义和政府的职能特性，以帮助烤鸭们积累相关的话题知识、原版语料，并配以2012-2016年雅思写作政府类话题真题，扩展解题思路。
朗阁海外考试研究中心 周莉
在本文中，朗阁将从经济学的角度论述政府存在的意义和政府的职能特性，以帮助烤鸭们积累相关的话题知识、原版语料，并配以2012-2016年雅思写作政府类话题真题进行雅思培训，扩展解题思路。
Why governments exist?
政府是一个我们熟悉而又陌生的话题。我们的生活的各个方面比如学习、工作、生活都与政府息息相关，但是对其的探究却并不充分，这导致了大多数学生在论述此类话题时都会存在话语空洞的问题。
要了解政府的职能，我们首先看一下政府存在的目的和原因。Parkin (2012, p.372)在《Economics》一书中说到Governments exist for three major reasons. First, they establish and maintain property rights. Second, they provide nonmarket mechanisms for allocating scarce resources. Third, they implement arrangements that redistribute income and wealth.首先，政府存在的个理由是建立和维护产权，也就是说设定并执行相应的法律体系(set up and enforce legal system)——管控职能(supervision & regulation);第二，政府*了非市场机制(nonmarket mechanism)来分配稀缺的资源(allocate scarce resources)。经济学中的资源通常指自然资源(land)、劳动力(labour)、生产资本(capital)、以及企业家资源(entrepreneurship)。由于资源的稀缺性(scarcity), 市场的利己性(self-interest)不会服务于社会利益(social interest), 有时有些公共品(public goods)比如国防、基础设施(infrastructure construction)，和有益品(merit goods)就会产出不足，比如教育、医疗、科研等，因此需要政府来进行资源的再配置(reallocation)。*后，政府主要通过税收(taxation)和财政支出(expenditure)进行财富的重新分配，缩小贫富差距(bridge the gap of wealth/eliminate economic inequality)。后两项都属于政府的财政职能(fiscal function)。
真题分析
对应到雅思大作文题目，朗阁海外考试研究中心的通过总结2012-2016年相关的政府话题，发现雅思大作文的考题正如上述的政府职能一样，分成了财政和管控两方面，并且前者的频次约为后者的3倍（如图一显示）。
财政职能又进一步地分成：
1). 花费由政府承担还是其他（分为个人、公司及其他）；
2). 政府是应该投资A还是B；
3). 政府是否应该投资A（主要为教育和城市生活领域）。
管控职能又可分成：
1). 该由政府管控还是个人的责任和选择
2). 政府是否应该管控A
通过话题的罗列，不难发现，和政府类产生火花的高频领域涵盖了教育、健康、艺术、科技等（字体颜色对应图中题目，图中数字代表考试日期），这些都属于政府可以*的有益品(merit goods), 也就是经济学中所称有外部效益的混合品(mixed goods with external benefits)——介于公共品public goods和私人品private goods之间的，是指那些当此类产品被消耗时，会对除使用人以外带来好处的产品，比如Parkin (2012, p.375)对于education的描述：But your being educated brings benefits to others. It brings benefits to your friends who enjoy your sharp, educated wit and it brings benefits to the community in which you live because well-educated people with a strong sense of fellowship and responsibility toward others make good neighbours.中阐述了education对于受教育者的朋友和社区的好处，整段语料可以直接当作雅思写作的论据。
因此，同理，健康、艺术、科技不仅对个人，也对整个社区、城市、国家产生外部效益(external benefits), 当寻找论点论据支持政府应该投资or管控这类商品时，可以从个人、家庭、社会等方面考虑政府投资or管控的好处，e.g.政府是否应该*free education (20120906 & 20140109)、free public libraries (20120112); 政府是否应该管控pollution、housing & health (20151010)。
其次，当遇到由政府还是个人（或公司）投资（或负责）A的时候，也可通过如下论述逻辑：A是merit goodsè能带来external benefits, 但由于资源的稀缺性è个人或公司无法满足需求è需要政府重新分配资源(land、labour、capital & entrepreneurship)（or缩小贫富差距、or完善监管制度）。
*后此类政府应该投资A还是B的题型，解题的重点在于A和B分别的pros & cons,而不在government本身是否应该去监管或投资，因此论证的重心需要从政府方面有一定的转移，根据具体情况，具体分析A和B。比如：政府应该投资Art而不是health和education (20120526), 此时只需重点分析双边的pros & cons即可。
图一、2012-2016年雅思写作政府类话题分类图
Reference
Parkin, M.(2012). Economics. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Appendix A 2012-2016雅思写作政府类话题真题集
2012.01.12
Some people believe that governments should make investment in building public libraries in every town, while others think it is a waste of money because we have access to information via Internet. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
2012.05.26
Some people believe that the government should support the funds for the arts, while some other people suggest that the money should be used for public health and education. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
2012.06.14
Many people believe that scientific research should be carried out and controlled by the government rather than private companies. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
2012.09.06
Some people believe that everyone has the right to receive university education，so the government should make it free to all people regardless of their financial background. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
2012.09.15
Since money for postgraduate research is limited, some people think financial support from the government should be only provided for scientific research rather than the research for less useful subjects. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
2013.05.25
Some people believe that government money should be spent on important things rather than arts such as painting and music. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
2013.06.06
Some people think that the government should offer financial support and care to old people, while others think that people should save money for their future life. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
2013.07.27
The restoration of old buildings in major cities in the world costs numerous governments' expenditures. This money should be used in new housing and road development. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
2013.08.17
In some countries governments pay the money for students' university fees，while in other countries, students pay for themselves. Do advantages of governments paying for the students outweigh its disadvantages？
2013.09.28
Some people think they have right to use as much fresh water as they want, while others believe governments should strictly control the use of fresh water, as it is limited resource. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
2014.01.09
The best way for the gove
