Brief book review – The Law of Good People: Challenging States’ Ability to Regulate Human Behaviour

Yuval Feldman, 2018, Cambridge University Press, 238 pages In The Law of Good People: Challenging States' Ability to Regulate Human Behaviour, Prof Yuval Feldman (Bar-Ilan University) challenges us to think about the need for regulation for 'good people' and what such regulation should look like. Feldman argues that many "ordinary people could engage in all … Continue reading Brief book review – The Law of Good People: Challenging States’ Ability to Regulate Human Behaviour

Brief book review – Advanced Introduction to Law and Psychology

Tom Tyler, 2022, Edward Elgar Publishing, 252 pages Prof Tom Tyler (Yale Law School) is a familiar name for students of regulation. His 1990 book Why People Obey the Law is a central work in the canon of regulatory scholarship. In that book, he challenged the traditional deterrence understanding of regulation—that is, the idea that … Continue reading Brief book review – Advanced Introduction to Law and Psychology

Brief book review – Implementing Public Policy (4th Edition)

Michael Hill and Peter Hupe, 2022, SAGE Publications, 290 pages Prof Michael Hill (University of Newcastle Upon Tyne) and Prof Peter Hupe (University of Leuven) have just released the 4th Edition of their popular and practical handbook Implementing Public Policy. The book has a much broader focus than regulatory scholarship but is relevant for those … Continue reading Brief book review – Implementing Public Policy (4th Edition)

Regulatory failure review: Now available as open access paper

Regulatory failure is much talked about, but little understood. Discussions about regulatory failure are often discussions about different understandings of what can be expected of regulatory governance and public regulation. The rhetoric of regulatory failure (typically a blame game) easily (and often) overshadows its analytical explanation. To assist executives, managers and frontline workers in regulatory … Continue reading Regulatory failure review: Now available as open access paper

Regulatory failure (6): Bringing it all together

At the start of this series of blog posts, I explained that reviewing the international academic literature on regulatory failure is challenging not only because the term lacks a clear definition. Two other challenges are at play also. First, debates about regulatory failure are often a combination of analytical observation and rhetorical interpretation. Second, the … Continue reading Regulatory failure (6): Bringing it all together

Regulatory failure (5): A private interest perspective

The previous blog posts in this series have reflected on regulatory failure from a public interest perspective, a public choice perspective, and institutional perspectives on regulation. This post will look at regulatory failure from a private interest perspective on regulation. That concludes the four major perspectives on regulation and what they can teach us about … Continue reading Regulatory failure (5): A private interest perspective

Regulatory failure (4): Institutional perspectives

In the previous blog posts, I have approached the notion of regulatory failure from a public interest perspective and a public choice perspective on regulation. This post will look at regulatory failure from institutional perspectives on regulation. A very brief summary of institutional perspectives on regulation Institutional perspectives on regulation broadly overlap with the theories … Continue reading Regulatory failure (4): Institutional perspectives

Regulatory failure (3): A public choice perspective

In the previous blog post, I have approached the notion of regulatory failure from a public interest perspective on regulation. I will look at regulatory failure from a public choice perspective in this post. A very brief summary of the public choice theory of regulation Public choice perspectives on regulation hold that regulators and their … Continue reading Regulatory failure (3): A public choice perspective

Regulatory failure (2): A public interest perspective

In the previous blog post, I have explained that it is challenging to synthesize the international academic literature on regulatory failure. I should probably have said: it is challenging if the aim is to arrive at a clear and undisputed definition of what a regulatory failure is and what its causes are. But unfortunately, there … Continue reading Regulatory failure (2): A public interest perspective

Regulatory failure (1): A review of the international academic literature

Early in 2021, I have committed to reviewing the international academic literature on regulatory failure as part of the Chair in Regulatory Practice’s research program. It turns out that this is the most challenging review that I have committed to so far—which explains why it has taken me so long to begin presenting its results. … Continue reading Regulatory failure (1): A review of the international academic literature