Turner, John William; (1998) Towards an improved model of economic regulation in the United Kingdom. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This dissertation examines the means of regulating economic enterprises in the UK in the light of comparative experience. The study draws upon secondary sources in the literature both in the UK and elsewhere, and also presents empirical case-studies of its own, based on interviews with regulatory officials and agencies in the UK as well as the USA, New Zealand and Australia. The central hypothesis of the thesis is that a legitimate regime of regulatory intervention requires mechanisms which encourage participation by interested parties, especially consumers, in conjunction with effective institutional design, so as to balance the objectives of competing interest groups. This allows economic regulation to be responsive and accountable and therefore legitimate. The work begins with a consideration of the different approaches to the subject of regulation in the literature of law and economics. It identifies the different models of regulation adopted in other countries, especially the USA, and then proceeds to develop a range of possible "benchmarks", or objectives of successful performance, for the evaluation of systems of economic regulation. Succeeding chapters then examine the historical evolution of UK economic regulation and various regulatory methods involving public and private ownership structures. A model of regulatory intervention based on the central hypothesis is then developed. Detailed theoretical and empirical studies of US and UK regulatory techniques and structures follow, covering numerous contemporary issues in various sectors of economic activity. The influence of competition law, EC membership and consultation and participation initiatives is analysed, along with UK and US case studies, particularly of public utility and telecommunications regulation. Consumer issues and the use of innovative consensual techniques are then addressed. Finally various conclusions are drawn as to the ways in which UK economic regulation needs to evolve to conform with the model of regulatory intervention developed in the thesis.

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