Economics of Regulation and Antitrust

"Incisive and up-to-date, this textbook lucidly explains the economic principles underlying effective regulatory and antitrust policies and provides a thorough examination of their consequences." -- Richard Zeckhauser, Ramsey Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

This new edition of Economics of Regulation and Antitrust continues to place economic reasoning first and foremost in analyzing regulatory and antitrust issues. It remains the only text that introduces the field by stressing the economic theory and empirical analysis that provides the rationale for government intervention in the market. The focus on economic principles, however, does not exclude treatment of institutional aspects of regulation and antitrust policy, which are explored in extensive case studies on mergers, cable television, and transportation regulation, among other topics. Following two introductory chapters, the text is divided into three parts: antitrust policy, economic regulation, and social regulation. Each part can be used separately for a variety of courses. Questions and problems appear at the end of almost every chapter. New topics, such as regulation of environmental tobacco smoke, have been added to the second edition, and other topics, such as pharmaceutical regulation and the new price competition in electric power, have been given entirely new treatments to reflect the changing emphases of government policy. The chapters on the airline, cable television, and telecommunications industries have been updated, and studies assessing the impact of airline deregulation on market concentration, air fares, and airline safety have been revised. There are extensive reviews of important regulatory changes regarding cable television rates. And sections have been added to cover such major regulatory issues as telecommunication and the digital convergence of communications, computers, and entertainment and their impact on both traditional and wireless local telephone, long distance telephone, and cable televison.