July 2009: Publication of Tobin's "New Perspectives on Regulation"

New regulation shouldn't rely on old ideas. Since the 1960s, influential research on government failure helped to drive the movement for deregulation and privatization. Yet even as this branch of research was flourishing, very different ideas were sprouting in the social sciences with profound implications for our understanding of human behavior and the role of government. Some of these ideas, particularly from the field of behavioral economics, have begun to enter into discussions of regulatory purpose, design, and implementation. The process is far from complete, and many other exciting new lines of research - on everything from social cooperation to co-regulation - have hardly been incorporated at all. It is imperative that lawmakers and their constituents be able to draw on the very latest academic work in thinking anew about the role of government. This is the purpose of this book: to make the newest and most important research accessible to a broad audience.

In advance of a formal launch, the Tobin Project has shared the book widely: at a Washington, D.C. event in October at Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s home, the Tobin Project introduced the volume to dozens of members of Congress, and also held a July briefing for Senate staff. The book made Amazon.com’s ‘Top 100’ Economic Policy bestsellers list. “The Economist’s View” and other influential blogs have featured chapters, and the book has been promoted in The New York Times, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly.

The book is available for free download so that its ideas are widely accessible to students and the public. Scholars have taken up its chapters in course syllabi and have used the book to enrich their projects.

Read excerpts, download chapters, or order the book »