Going by the Book: The Problem of Regulatory Unreasonableness / Edition 1

by Walter Kaufmann, Eugene Bardach

Overview

What is regulation? Under what circumstances is it needed? What forms should it take? Such questions are especially relevant at a time in United States history when governmental involvement in decisions formerly left to individuals and business firms evokes concern on all sides of the political spectrum. In Going by the Book, Eugene Bardach and Robert A. Kagan address these questions and provide richly detailed descriptions of the dilemmas of enforcement in a broad variety of regulatory programs.The authors argue that the most successful forms of regulation emerge from a flexible rather than a legalistic method of implementation. Relying on extensive interviews with government agency officials and regulated businesses, they find that American techniques of regulation, by their very nature, frequently generate "regulatory unreasonableness," that is, governmental requirements that seem sensible in principle but that make little sense in particular situations. By exploring the roots and dynamics of regulatory unreasonableness and the ways in which some regulatory officials and programs avoid it, Going by the Book simultaneously illustrates the virtues of flexible regulatory enforcement and illuminates the political and practical obstacles to achieving that goal. In their new introduction, the authors discuss their findings in light of the twenty years that have passed since Going by the Book was first published. They explore the growth of regulation in recent years as well as many reforms, noting that while much has changed, much has not. They argue the United States remains torn between two competing visions of regulation: enforcing laws versus solving social problems. Thus, the deep insights into the regulatory process that Going by the Book provides continue to make it a mandatory work for public policymakers, experts in economics, government, and regulatory law, and students and teachers of political science, public policy, and sociolegal studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765809230
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	02/28/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Eugene Bardach is professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of The Skill Factor in Politics, The Implementation Game, A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, and most recently Getting Agencies to Work Together: The Practice and Theory of Managerial Craftsmanship.

Eugene Bardach is professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of The Skill Factor in Politics, The Implementation Game, A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, and most recently Getting Agencies to Work Together: The Practice and Theory of Managerial Craftsmanship.

Robert A. Kagan is professor of political science and law at the University of California at Berkeley, and director of Berkeley's Center for the Study of Law and Society. His publications include Regulatory Justice, Going by the Book: The Problem of Regulatory Unreasonableness (with Eugene Bardach), and Regulatory Encounters.

Table of Contents

1: The Problem of Regulatory Unreasonableness; 1: The Growth of Protective Regulation; 2: Toward Toughness: The Changing Legal Structure of Enforcement; 3: Unreasonableness; 4: The Perverse Effects of Legalism; 2: Flexible Enforcement and Its Limits; 5: The Good Inspector; 6: Managing the Regulatory Agency; 7: The Regulatory Ratchet; 3: Indirect Regulation; 8: Private Regulation; 9: Mandatory Disclosure; 10: Liability; 11: The Social Responsibility of Government

Editorial Reviews

"The most comprehensive book about how regulation is actually carried on, and the most enlightening about its policy dilemmas." —Aaron Wildavsky

From the Publisher