Summary: The public, the business community, the Congress, and the President have expressed concern about the current state of Government regulatory activity.
Issues of concern in the current debate over Government regulation include: the continued appropriateness of some regulatory objectives; the ability of regulation to produce specific results; the alleged imposition of substantial economic costs on society; the effect of regulation on the distribution of income; the best administrative structure for regulation; and the range and feasibility of regulatory reform alternatives. A study of the actual effect of organization and process on regulatory activity would be useful in a Government evaluation of regulation. Thorough regulatory reform requires a complete review of regulation. The review process should be designed to determine the cause of regulatory failure, its extent, and the best reform alternatives. Reform alternatives include complete deregulation, partial deregulation, standards and alternatives, awarding monopoly franchises, subsidies, nationalization, and antitrust enforcement.
