ABSTRACT
The Contract with America puts the Market first in government decision-making by requiring that stringent cost-benefit tests be applied to all regulatory decisions. Before this, the Market was not the primary criterion on which decisions were made to clean up polluted air, protect workers from asbestos or require airbags in passenger vehicles. The economist's tool of cost-benefit analysis was never intended to change the way the US does business in the regulatory sphere. But, over time, it has. Originally intended to shed light on only one aspect of the economic impact of regulation, it now characterises the regulatory reform movement. In particular, the intrusion of Market values into regulation lessens democracy in the US. In the Free Market era that spawned the Contract with America, it is a good time to look specifically at how the Market has come to be synonymous with responsible government.
