Regulation in the States

Deregulation continues to be a fiercely debated issue in the US. The proper role and amount of government intervention or oversight is constant fodder for politicians, analysts and talk radio, and the anti-regulation movement within the federal government formed in the 1970s. While that debate rages, however, regulation at the state level remains below the radar screen, yet it is a crucial part of the picture. Some states are even countering the federal trend by supplementing their own regulatory efforts. Thus the push toward devolution of powers may actually be helping states strengthen regulation in some areas rather than weaken it in some areas. Paul Teske provides the foundation necessary to assess competing claims about state regulation. His book provides empirical analysis across all 50 states in ten important areas of industry, including utilities, telecommunications, the environment, health care certification, legal services and bank solvency. He finds that fears of regulatory capture by industry are overblown, as are concerns that a race to the bottom will necessarily result from competition between states trying to lure industry. State legislatures and agencies still base decisions on their own ideologies and analysis. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to the rules, especially in the case of occupational regulation, and there clearly is room for improvement in state-level regulation. Teske assesses a wide range of possible reforms.