Regulation EC 723, 823 (MA, Ph.D.)

Wednesday 4:30-7:10pm, Donahue 307

Final Exam December 15th 5:40pm-7:30pm

 

 

Dr. Benjamin Powell

Department of Economics

73 Tremont St. Office 1020

bpowell@suffolk.edu (best way to reach me)

617-573-8023

http://mail.beaconhill.org/~bpowell/

Office Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 2-3:30pm and by appointment

 

This course will introduce students to economic theories of regulation.  We will explore theories of market failure and the rationale for regulation.  We will explore how regulators function in differing institutional environments.  With this analytic toolkit we will then study various topical areas of regulation including: Monopoly and Antitrust, Environmental, Health, Safety, Financial Market, Housing, and Vice. 

 

Expectations:  You are expected to read each week’s assigned readings BEFORE coming to class and to be prepared to discuss them.  Readings will come from the books, professional journal articles, and policy studies.  Graduate school is about transforming from a consumer of economics to a producer of new economic knowledge.  Unless you engage and digest the readings on your own before class you will have difficulty making the transition. 

 

Books:

 

Kip Viscusi, Joseph Harrington, and John Vernon.  Economics of Regulation and

Antitrust 4th ed.   MIT Press. 2005.

 

Dominick Armentano. Antitrust and Monopoly.  Independent Institute.  1996.

 

Jim Leitzel, Regulating Vice.  Cambridge University Press. 2007.

 

William Mitchell and Randy Simmons.  Beyond Politics.  Westview. 1994.

 

Grading:

            Final Exam                               30%

            Midterm Exam              20%

            Term Paper                              30%

            Quizzes/Participation                 20%

 

 

 

 

Tentative Schedule

 

Sept. 8                  Intro & Market Failure                   

Viscusi et al Chapters 1 & 2

Mitchell & Simmons Chapter 1

 

Sept. 15                The Economics of Politics

Mitchell & Simmons Chapters 2, 3, 4, & 6.                     

 

Sept. 22      The Economic Theory of Regulation  (Need to Reschedule)

Viscusi et al. Chapter 10. 

Stigler, G. (1971) “The Theory of Economic Regulation.”  The Bell Journal of Economics and

Management Science.  Vol. 2 (1): 3-21.

Peltzman, S. (1976) “Toward a More General Theory of Regulation.”  Journal of Law and

Economics.  Vol. 19(2): 211-240.

Becker, G. (1983) “A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence.” 

Quarterly Journal of Economics.  Vol. 98(3): 371-400.

Peltzman, S. (1993) “George Stigler’s Contribution to the Economic Analysis of Regulation.” 

Journal of Political Economy.  Vol. 101(5): 818-832.

Glaeser, E. and Shleifer, A. (2003) “The Rise of the Regulatory State.”  Journal of Economic

Literature 41: 402-425.

McChesney, F. (1987) “Rent Extraction and Rent Creation in the Economic Theory of

Regulation.”  Journal of Legal Studies 16: 101-118.

Yandle, B. (1983) “Bootleggers and Baptists – The Education of a Regulatory Economist.” 

Regulation.  Vol. 7(3): 12-16.

 

Sept. 29                Health and Safety

Viscusi et al Chapter 19, 22, & 23.

Peltzman, S. (1975) “The Effects of Automobile Safety Regulation.  Journal of Political

Economy 83(4): 677-726.

Arnold, Dennis (2010) “Working Condition: Safety and Sweatshops.”  Will be distributed.

 

Oct. 6                              Environmental   

Viscusi et al Chapter 21.

Yandle, B. (1998) “Bootleggers, Baptists, and Global Warming.”  PERC Policy Series 14:

http://www.perc.org/articles/article193.php

Anderson and Leal “Rethinking the Way We Think” and “Homesteading the Oceans” in Free

Market Environmentalism.  Handout.

 

Oct. 13                 Midterm Exam

 

Oct. 20                 Housing (State and Local)

Holcombe, R. and Powell B. (eds.) (2009) Housing America: Building Out of a Crisis. 

Transaction.  Electronic version to be distributed.

 

 

 

 

Oct. 27                 Housing and Financial Crisis

 

Critical Review Symposium “Causes of the Financial Crisis.” Vol. 21 No. 2/3

 

Nov. 3                   Drugs and Alcohol

Leitzel, Chapters 1 through 8. 

Thornton, M. “The Repeal of Prohibition.”  In The Economics of Prohibition.  Will hand out hard

copy in class.

                                                                                               

Nov. 10                 The Market for Regulation

 

Boettke, Peter  (2010) “Is theonlyform of ‘reasonable regulation’ self regulation?:  Lessons from

Lin Ostrom on regulating the commons and cultivating citizens.”  Public Choice.

Coase, Ronald (1960) “The Problem of Social Cost.”  Journal of Law and Economics.

Klein, Daniel (2001) “The Demand for and Supply of Assurance.”  Available at:

http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/klein/PdfPapers/assurance_chap.pdf

Stringham, Edward (2003) “The Extralegal Development of Securities Trading in Seventeenth

Century Amsterdam.”  Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 43(2): 321-344.

 

Nov. 17                 Monopoly & Antitrust  (Need to Reschedule)

Viscusi et al. Chapters 3 & 4.

Armentano Chapters 1 & 2.

Kovacic, W. and Shapiro, C. (2000) “Anitrust Policy: A Century of Economic and Legal

Thinking.”  Journal of Economic Perspectives 15: 43-60.

 

Dec. 1                   Historical Application of Antitrust Law

Armentano Chatpers 3 & 4.

DiLorenzo, T. (1985) “Origins of Antitrust: An Interest Group Perspective.”  International

Review of Law and Economics 5: 73-90.

 

Dec. 3                   Mergers, Price Discrimination, and Tying                                  

Viscusi et al. Chapters 6, 7, 8, & 9.

Armentano Chapter 6, 7, 8, & 9.            

 

Dec. 8                   Research Presentations                         

 

 

 

FINAL EXAM December 15th 5:40pm-7:30pm