Understanding Regulation Theory, Strategy, and Practice

Regulation is a matter of central importance to industries, consumers, citizens, and governments alike. The third edition of Understanding Regulation provides the reader with an introduction to key debates on regulation and does so from a number of disciplinary perspectives, looking to law, economics, business, political science, sociology, and social administration.

The book has been extensively revised and updated to account for the significant developments in business, regulation, technology, and government that have taken place in the last decade and a half. It contains several new chapters and is structured into parts dealing with fundamentals, strategies, rules and enforcement, regulatory quality and evaluation, regulation beyond the state, regulating network industries, and unfolding issues (including challenges relating to digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and sustainability).

Understanding Regulation draws on regulatory experiences in many sectors and countries throughout the world. It reviews the central questions of regulation and explores the key issues that affect the operation of regulatory regimes. It is an essential resource for academics and researchers involved with regulation, as well as those concerned with the design and practice of regulation.

Robert Baldwin, Professor of Law Emeritus, London School of Economics and Political Science,Martin Cave, Visiting Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science,Martin Lodge, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science

Robert Baldwin is Professor of Law Emeritus, London School of Economics and Political Science. He has published widely on regulation and acted as a consultant to such bodies as the Health and Safety Executive, the European Commission, the International Labour Organisation, Ofsted, Defra, and HM Treasury.

Martin Cave is an economist in the theory and practice of economic regulation of various sections of the economies throughout the world. He has held professorial positions at Brunel University, Warwick Business School, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he is now a Visiting Professor.

Martin Lodge is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His key research interests are in the areas of executive politics and regulation, and he teaches on courses in Public Administration & Public Policy, Public Management, and Regulation.

1. IntroductionPart I Fundamentals2. Why Regulate?3. What Is Good Regulation?4. Explaining Regulation5. Regulatory FailurePart II Strategies6. Regulating Risks7. Regulatory Strategies8. Behavioural Approaches and Nudges9. Self-Regulation, Meta-Regulation, and Regulatory Networks10. Franchising11. Emissions TradingPart III Rules and Enforcement12. Enforcement within the Regulatory Process13. Responsive Regulation14. Risk-Based Regulation15. Standards and PrinciplesPart IV Quality and Evaluation16. Quality Assessment, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Regulatory Impact Assessment17. Accountability, Participation, and Regulatory Procedures18. Regulatory Competition and CoordinationPart V Regulation Beyond the State19. Transnational RegulationPart VI Regulating Network Industries20. Introduction to Network Regulation21. Regulating Network Monopolies22. Developing Competition in Network Industries23. Retail Markets and Consumers in Network Industries24. Regulation and Innovation in the Network SectorPart VII Unfolding Issues25. Regulating Digital Platforms26. Regulating Artificial Intelligence and Digital Processes More Widely27. Sustainability as a Regulatory Objective: Challenges and Responses28. Conclusion