Two Theories of the Administrative State & Regulation

Introductory video Lecture for my Administrative Law course and for Statutory Interpretation & Regulation, addressing the traditional rationales or justification for government intervention or regulation, and the challenge brought in recent decades by Public Choice Theory, neoliberalism, and libertarianism. SUMMARY: Professor Stevenson's video contrasts two major theories of administrative law and regulation. The traditional view posits that regulation is a necessary intervention to correct "market failures" such as externalities (costs imposed on third parties), monopolies (where a single entity controls a market), public goods (items whose consumption by one individual does not prevent consumption by another), and information asymmetries (when one party has more or better information than the other). Conversely, the modern "public choice theory" argues that the administrative state and its regulations are often the result of special interest groups manipulating government power for their own benefit, even suggesting that regulators themselves act out of self-interest rather than the public good. This contemporary perspective offers counterarguments to each of the traditional justifications for regulation, suggesting they may serve as pretexts for one group to dominate another through bureaucratic manipulation.