A Dynamic Theory of Regulation

According to the theory presented in this paper, economic regulation does not ordinarily result from market failure; nor does it ordinarily result from an attempt to divide monopoly profits among a smaller, rather than larger, number of firms. It results from a difference in utility functions with respect to both individuals and firms: for example, when older firms in an industry lose their taste for rivalry and are able to obtain government assistance to impose "order" on the industry.