‘From the Positive to the Regulatory State: Causes and Consequences of Changes in the Mode of Governance’

Budget and revenue figures are good summaries of what is happening in welfare, defence or tax policy, and can be used to communicate efficiently with the general public over the fray of program-by-program interest group contention. . . In the world of regulation, however, where the government commands but nearly all the rest takes place in the private economy, we generally lack good aggregate numbers to describe what is being ‘taxed’ and ‘spent’ in pursuit of public policies. Instead we have lists - endless lists of projects the government would like others to undertake.