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Building on Oliver Williamson's original analysis, the contributors introduce new ideas, different perspectives and provide tools for better understanding changes in the approach to regulation, the reform of public utilities, and the complex problems of governance. They draw largely upon a transaction cost approach, highlighting the challenges faced by major economic sectors and identifying critical flaws in prevailing views on regulation. Deeply rooted in sector analysis, the book conveys a central message of new institutional economics: that theory should be continuously confronted by facts, and reformed or revolutionized accordingly. With its emphasis on the institutional embeddedness of regulatory issues and the problems generated by the'benign neglect'of institutional factors in the reform of major public utilities, this book will provide a wide-ranging audience with challenging views on the dynamics of regulatory approaches. Economists, political scientists, postgraduate students, researchers and policymakers with an interest in institutional economics and economic organization will find the book to be a stimulating and enlightening read.

The practice of regulatory impact assessment has long needed a critical Better state regulation is a key component of economic reform. This is the first book to comprehensively explore international experience in the use of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), which involves assessing the potential benefits and costs of any regulatory change. The contributors reveal that RIA is being adopted by an increasing number of countries as a route to better regulation with varying degrees of success. The book includes contributions from leading experts on regulatory reform and introduces a range of case studies from developed, developing and transitional economies.Comprehensive in its approach, this book contributes to the literature on evidence-based decision making as part of the new public management. By rigorously examining the principles of better regulation and focusing on the problem of applicability and adoption of RIA practices around the world, it will greatly aid understanding of regulatory policy design and implementation.The book will be invaluable for academics and researchers of public policy and management in developed, developing and transitional countries. It will also be of great practical relevance to government administrators and policymakers challenged by the need to understand the scope and limitations of RIA.

Anthony Ellison cuts through conventional neo-classical interpretations to expose the indispensable contribution of entrepreneurs in driving the market process and, in particular, in accomplishing the deregulation of the transportation, trade, telecommunications and financial regimes both in North America and across the globe. Entrepreneurs have an important role in any economy, but in this seminal study, the author argues that they have played a crucial part in shaping the contemporary global market. Entrepreneurs and the Transformation of the Global Economy situates the emergence of the contemporary global market economy within an historical context.The author reviews the rival interpretations of the global impacts of the surging market economy and is particularly critical of previous Marxist interpretations. His examination of the deregulation of the North American airline industry and the re-design of its organisational infrastructure serves to illustrate the potential of the neo-institutional approach in economic analysis and is intended to offer a more meaningful alternative.This book will be of interest to academics and researchers of public sector economics, globalisation and deregulation as well as transport economists.