Regulated Industries

Discussion - 2 hours. This course examines regulation of business in sectors, traditionally described as “common carrier” and “utility” industries, where because of market failures normal competitive mechanisms will not protect consumers from exercises of market power. As a consequence, these industries have traditionally been subject to pervasive regulation of entry, pricing, and other terms of service. The course examines the traditional rationales for such pervasive regulation, and the specific legal and economic principles governing such regulation. It also examines closely the massive reforms that have occurred in this area in recent years, resulting in a very different regulatory landscape than that which prevailed in the post-New Deal era.