The Oxford Handbook of Regulation

Abstract

The Oxford Handbook of Regulation provides a clear and authoritative discussion of the major trends and issues in regulation over the last thirty years, together with an outline of prospective developments. Regulation is often thought of as an activity that restricts behaviour and prevents the occurrence of certain undesirable activities, but the influence of regulation can also be enabling or facilitative, as in the circumstances when a market could potentially be chaotic if uncontrolled. Each article offers a broad overview of key current issues and provides an analysis of different perspectives on those issues. Experiences in different jurisdictions and insights from various disciplines are drawn upon, and particular attention is paid to the challenges that are encountered when specific approaches are applied in practice. The articles illustrate distinctive arguments relating to the central issues.