Regulatory Capture

George Stigler’s Errors and Their Virtues

George Stigler might have been wrong in his essay on economic regulation, but his influence is undeniable. The unity of purpose in his writings...

Fake Comments Cause Real Harm: How the Public Comment Process Was Corrupted

Turning a blind eye to the corruption of the public comment process—or worse, lumping together genuine mass comments with fraudulent comments—corrupts the rulemaking process. At...

George Stigler and the Challenge of Democracy

We are all victims of what George Stigler described as “the pervasive use of state support of special groups” and of governance failures everywhere....

Let’s Not Forget George Stigler’s Lessons about Regulatory Capture

George Stigler’s theory of economic regulation opened our eyes to the rent-seeking that undermines the public interest. Yet many in positions to influence policy...

Barriers to Entry as Another Source of Top Income Inequality

A new book, The Power of Creative Destruction, explores how lobbying contributes to the increase in the top 1 percent’s share of income. An...

Lobbying for Globalization: How the Winners Dominate the Politics of Trade Agreements

Lobbying on free trade agreements has been dominated by a few very large firms, which experience large gains as a result of the entry...

George Stigler’s Paper on Regulation and the Rise of Political Economy

George Stigler’s “The Theory of Economic Regulation” is not just the founding paper of economics of regulation. It is also a founding paper of...

Of Antitrust and Patents: the Quiet Return of the Status Quo at the DOJ’s Antitrust Division

Without Senate-confirmed political leadership, the Department of Justice quietly reverts to an Obama-era policy that favors Big Tech. The consistent theme running through Makan Delrahim’s...

Stigler’s Interest-Group Theory of Regulation: A Skeptical Note

As a rule, regulation is not acquired by “the industry,” and it is not designed and operated primarily for its benefit. The mechanisms behind...

The Durable Impact of Stigler’s Theory of Economic Regulation

George Stigler’s “The Theory of Economic Regulation” was an early application of public choice reasoning to a practical problem—the work of regulatory agencies. It...

Latest news