ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the basic features and values of the institutionalist approach as it evolved through successive phases of historical development. It presents the neoclassical approach to regulation based on an integration. The chapter examines a new generation of problems in energy, telecommunications, and transport to provide a framework for a further evaluation of the potential contribution of each approach. The institutionalist perception of regulation can be traced back to the British common law during the seventeenth century. The most insightful explanation of the success of the deregulation movement comes from the analysis of regulatory failure provided by James Landis and Horace Gray. There is no single neoclassical model of regulation that encompasses the rationale for regulation, the proper analytical tools to apply in implementing regulation, and the options for improving regulatory performance. Rather, there are several separate lines of neoclassical thought that deal with economic and social regulation.
