Regulation and Development

Jean-Jacques Laffont provides the first theoretical analysis of the regulation of public services for developing countries.

Jean-Jacques Laffont (Author)

9780521840187, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 10 March 2005

292 pages
22.3 x 14.5 x 2.4 cm, 0.516 kg

'This book presents the first rigorous and careful analysis of these issues, opening up a huge new research agenda and taking account of the practicalities of economic policy in developing countries. I recommend this book to all advanced graduate students and researchers with an interest in incentive theory and development economics. Is it a must for policymakers that are concerned with the effectiveness of delivering public services in emerging and developing countries. It is only a matter of time before Laffont's book becomes part of the standard toolkit for both theorists and practitioners alike. … his work will endure.' De Economist

In Regulation and Development Jean-Jacques Laffont provides the first theoretical analysis of regulation of public services for developing countries. He shows how the debate between price-cap regulation and cost of service regulation is affected by the characteristics of less developed countries (LDCs) and offers a positive theory of privatization that stresses the role of corruption. He develops a new theory of regulation with limited enforcement capabilities and discusses the delicate issue of access pricing in view of LDC's specificities. In the final chapter he proposes a theory of separation of powers which reveals one of the many vicious circles of underdevelopment made explicit by the economics of information. Based on organization theory and history, and using simple empirical tests wherever possible, Professor Laffont offers a comprehensive evaluation of the different ways to organize the regulatory institutions and opens up a rich new research agenda for development studies.

Foreword
Introduction
1. Overview of regulatory issues
2. The rent extraction-efficiency trade-off
3. A positive theory of privatization
4. Enforcement, regulation and development
5. Access pricing rules for developing countries
6. Universal service obligations in LCDs
7. Design of regulatory institutions
8. Separation of regulatory powers and development
9. Concluding remarks.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Development economics & emerging economies [KCM], Economic theory & philosophy [KCA]