Blog
The rise of the consumer regulator
15th February 2011
Regulatory failure and government failure often figure prominently when we teach introductory market failure economics and the impact of government intervention. Could the open web be the stimulus for a new powerful form of regulation on the activities of businesses - namely the consumer regulator? Don Tapscott (who I had the pleasure of hearing on his visit to London last October) thinks so in this comment piece that draws on his new book MacroWikinomics.
“During the 1980s and ’90s, many governments dismantled large regulatory bodies and asked industries to police themselves. The public was told that self-regulation would be more efficient. Governments were to be the “regulators of last resort” – stepping in only after self-regulation was deemed to have failed. The problem, in practice, is that most industry self-regulators have lax rules or inadequate enforcement…...Just about every domain of regulation today – from air and water quality to food safety and financial services – could benefit from vigilant citizens helping to protect the public interest.”
More here And more of his articles from the Globe and Mail here
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.