Foreword

Welcome to this Module on Approaches to regulation. Regulation is a relatively new discipline which evolved only during the late nineteenth-century and has increasingly become central to the management of markets worldwide, to the extent that exclusive reference to the invisible hand of the market has almost disappeared. The volume of theoretical and empirical literature on regulation has expanded and the maturity of the discipline has increased accordingly. The practical application of regulation in administrative circles has also increased providing for a rich resource of experiences. Regulation has replaced other state forms of intervention in the economy as evinced in the plethora of regulatory agencies throughout different sectors.

This new prominence given to regulation has further highlighted the challenges faced by regulators world-wide. These have centred mainly on the socio-economic and political issues and concerns. This module attempts to introduce you to the likely socio-economic and political dimensions of regulation, the dynamics of competition and the modes and styles of regulation and the instruments of regulation (including pricing and licensing).