Canonical · Governance & Power · Paper

Regulatory Capture

George Stigler · 1971

"Regulation is typically acquired by the industry it regulates and bent to that industry's benefit, not the public's, because the regulated have concentrated interest and lobbying power that diffuse consumers can't match."

The idea

Stigler's 1971 paper demolished the comfortable assumption that regulators protect the public. His claim: regulation is usually captured by the very industry it's meant to police.

Why it works

The takeaway — recall it first

The Prince: Power as It Actually Works

"Rulers should be judged by whether their methods preserve power and stability, not by whether those methods are conventionally virtuous."

Niccolò Machiavelli · BookContinue→