The Economics of Government Regulation

This book offers an in-depth and systematic review of the two major forms of regulation-regulatory process and capture theory, with particular emphasis on the Chinese context, drawing from a myriad of cases across the telecommunications, electric power, and water industries sectors since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Regulation is a public policy approach closely related to calculations of the equilibrium of supply and demand and to cost-benefit analyses. Governments combine a variety of incentives and restrictions on behavior, including laws and regulations, in order to guide enterprises and smaller entities within the economy toward pursuing policies in the public interest.
This book offers an in-depth and systematic review of the economic theory of regulation, with particular emphasis on the Chinese context. The basic concepts cover economic and social regulation, regulatory process, regulation under asymmetric information, and capture theory. Drawing on a broad range of cases from across the telecommunications, electric power, and water sectors since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the author explores economic regulation in China with reference to natural monopoly, investment, price level and price structure, entry, and competition. In addition, he discusses theories of externalities and asymmetric information, which are analyzed in the light of China's environmental and product quality regulation. The author argues that the Chinese government has deregulated its economy to a large extent in the past and proposes that the Chinese government will enforce more social regulation in the future.
Students and scholars of government regulation, economics, and industrial organization will find this volume to be an essential guide.

Autorentext

Wang Junhao is a specialist of government regulation in China, professor and dean of the China Institute of Regulation Research, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics (ZUFE), and author of 20 academic books and more than 150 peer-reviewed academic papers.

Inhalt
Part 1: Introduction. 1. Economic Analysis of Government Regulation. 2. Introduction to Government Regulation. Part 2: Economic Regulation. 3. Theories of Natural Monopoly and Investment Regulation. 4. Theory of Price Level Regulation. 5. Theory of Price Structure Regulation. 6. Theory of Entry Regulation. 7. Theory of Competition in a Natural Monopoly. 8. Regulation in the Telecommunications Industry in China. 9. Regulation in the Electric Power Industry in China. 10. Regulation in the Water Industry in China. Part 3: Social Regulation. 11. Externalities and Environmental Regulation in China. 12. Asymmetric Information and Product Quality Regulation in China. Part 4: Conclusion. 13. Trends in Regulation and Policy Implications in China