The economics and politics of regulation

This article provides a critical survey of the literature on the economics and politics of regulation. After some conceptual clarifications, the article surveys the evolution of perspectives on regulation during the post-Second World War period, emphasizing especially the interactions between intellectual changes and real world economic and political developments. It then looks at some themes that are neglected in the current literature--the inevitability of regulation, the need to create (and not simply regulate) markets, distributional issues, dynamic considerations, and the politics of regulation--and suggests that incorporating these themes more closely into the discussion will improve our understanding in this area.