February 2008: A Tobin Project Conference on "Government & Markets: Toward a New Theory of Regulation"

What are the best ways to structure economic regulation in an age of rapid technological change, fraying social safety nets, globalization, and the reemergence of concentrated corporate power?

New thinking is urgently needed on the appropriate regulatory relationships between government and business and, by extension, the most constructive role that markets and the state plays in our society. To inaugurate this interchange, the Tobin Project convened an interdisciplinary conference in early 2008 entitled, “Government and Markets: Toward a New Theory of Regulation.”

In 2009, papers from this conference were published in the edited volume, Government & Markets: Toward a New Theory of Regulation (Cambridge University Press).

Key themes:

Regulatory Purpose
What values and objectives should guide government officials as they identify contexts that require regulatory responses?

Appraisal of Deregulation
What has "economic deregulation" actually meant over the past two generations of American policy-making?

Optimal Conditions for Government Action
Under what conditions is government action most or least successful, taking into account a range of regulatory purposes (e.g., economic efficiency, justice, etc.)?

Regulatory Decision-Making
How should policy-makers assess the "success" or "failure" of general regulatory frameworks and particular regulatory schemes?