Overview

""The Half-Life of Policy Rationales"" argues that the appropriateness of policy depends on the state of technology, and that the justifications for many public policies are dissolving as technology advances. As new detection and metering technologies are being developed for highways, parking, and auto emissions, and information becomes more accessible and user-friendly, this volume argues that quality and safety are better handled by the private sector. As for public utilities, new means of producing and delivering electricity, water, postal, and telephone services dissolve the old natural-monopolies rationales of the government. This volume includes essays on marine resources, lighthouses, highways, parking, auto emissions, consumer product safety, money and banking, medical licensing, electricity, water delivery, postal service, community governance, and endangered species. The editors have mobilized the hands-on knowledge of field experts to develop theories about technology and public policy. ""The Half-Life of Policy Rationales"" will be of interest to readers in public policy, technology, property rights, and economics.

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9780814747773

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Reviews

Whether you are interested in the role of government and markets, or the role of technology in society, or in specific policy areas, Half-Life makes for stimulating reading. Foldvary and Klein should be commended for bringing together many disparate policy areas under one roof, and assessing the role of technology in promoting choice, freedom, and prosperity. --Knowledge, Technology, & Policy The Half-Life of Policy Rationales is one clever book. Nothing in recent years on economics of new technology comes close. --The Independent Review This makes for provocative and profitable reading. -- Markets & Morality A useful volume for those interested in the rationales for regulations and other government policies. -- Choice

<p> This makes for provocative and profitable reading. <br>

Author Information

Fred E. Foldvary is a Lecturer in Economics at Santa Clara University. He is author of Public Goods and Private Communities and Dictionary of Free Market Economics. Daniel B. Klein is Associate Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University. He is co-author of Curb Rights: A Foundation for Free Enterprise in Urban Transit and editor of Reputation: Studies in the Voluntary Elicitation of Good Conduct and What Do Economists Contribute?, available from NYU Press.

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