Preventing Regulatory Capture: Special Interest Influence and How to Limit it

Mr. Carpenter is restrained in his overview, probably because "capture" is hard to prove. But from a lay perspective, the US is rife with the disease and it will probably be the biggest hurdle in combating climate change. This is good overview, hopefully more aggressive tactics will be formulated elsewhere because they are already needed.

I knew that I wouldn't be taking a chance on a book edited by Moss and Carpenter. [I'd read the books of both.] So glad I bought it. Great clarity of insights among the authors of the chapters. Original, high impact stuff. "Capture" is one of those loose concepts that is tossed around too easily. The contributions in this book clarity what capture is, where it exists and sharpens the field of regulatory studies overall.

Gives a good perspective on the important subject of capture.

Insightful and carefully structured.

Just when you might have reassured yourself that 21st Century USA is a true democracy and that your vote - and the reasons behind it - are of key interest and concern to your State/Federal Senator/Congress person - along comes Carpenter and Moss' "Preventing Regulatory Capture" - a broad based - as in multiple industries subject to federal and state regulation - assessment of both the situations and the industries where regulatory capture has occurred in the US. Defined (p.49) as "the subversion of regulatory agencies by the firms they regulate" - the reader can immediately relate to the 2008 financial crisis, the Gulf Oil Spill, Internet neutrality, ongoing issues with the SEC, the EPA, the FDA, the FCC (reviewed here in its 1927 incarnation as the Federal Radio Commission) etc. This is not a light read, and the editors have done a splendid job in keeping a consistent style and level of authority throughout . The authors are very balanced in their approaches - in several instances ascribing regulatory capture of federal agencies to conflicting Congressional mandates for their activity that makes their susceptibility all too predictable. This is exemplified in the article by Carrigan where the overt bribery - financial and sexual - that colored the function of the now defunct Minerals Management Service and that led to woefully conflicted oversight making thee Gulf Oil Spill perhaps inevitable. Of course regulatory capture and its vehicle - the multiple lobbyist organizations in DC - has become the rule rather than the exception (not for nothing is Tysons Corner VA opening an additional 4 Metro stations based on a booming, taxpayer-funded economy) - leading to a concluding consideration by the editors on how to prevent regulatory capture. While Executive and Judicial review of regulatory decisions and regulations figure high on their list - a more pragmatic and essential part of this prevention is a transparent and objective media coupled with sunshine laws. The latter is currently under assault by various factions not the least of which is the Internet with revered newspapers falling by the wayside as they become financially non viable. Were it not for certain sectors of the media, many of the recent abuses of power enacted by both Congress and the Executive would go unnoticed to the detriment of the public who fund their limousines, restaurant bills, fancy watches and vacations. This is an essential book to anyone concerned about the future of the free world. I can also recommend Carpenter's magisterial tome on the FDA  Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA (Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative Perspectives)  (2010) that despite its subject matter is highly readable.

I'm giving this collection of essays on "Preventing Regulatory Capture" a 4-star because my gut is that it is a thoughtful, well researched collection regarding an important issue post-everything-in-the-economy-and-other-things-falling-apart.That said, it went way over my head. I gave myself as much time as I could to read this book. I could probably take a month to read each chapter because in order for someone at my level to understand the concepts discussed in this book, I'd need to research more.In short, it is a book for people already familiar with the topic or studying in the field that this topic belongs. It isn't for the curious layman like myself who thinks it may be an easy expanded explanation for "Too Big to Fail". It is and it isn't. It is because it does touch on the financial fall out of the late 2000s but it is a lot more technical and detailed.

The issue of Regulatory Capture (especially in health/medical care) is one which is given minimal attention in the mainstream media but of the utmost of importance. This book is a compilation of "voices" on the topic each with a given area of expertise/interest. To that effect, it provides a nice cross section of the current issues along with authoritative treatment by some of the leading experts in the field. On the other hand, the actual execution leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, it is an academic/socio-political topic but this was exceptionally tedious to read; simple enhancements such as format can do wonders to make a book more reader friendly....clearly something with the publishers felt was erroneous.

One the few authoritative consideration of the concept of capture in politics. Frequently left to the preserve of economists and their rational choice models, the authors in this volume reconsider the concept of capture from other disciplinary perspectives chiefly that of political science