Process

According to experts on a recent panel, identifying, measuring, and tackling capture should be a top priority for government.

Regulatory capture is hard to pin down, its elusiveness stemming from four principal factors.

Rent-seeking and profit-seeking behavior provide valuable insights into the concept of regulatory capture.

Regulatory capture’s antecedents in political thought—which date back to ancient Greece—inform the modern concept.

Enforcement decisions are oft-overlooked, yet such decisions merit heightened scrutiny if regulatory capture is to be reined in.

These two forms of regulatory capture require different solutions.

When a regulation’s benefits exceed its costs, simplicity and interdisciplinary processes are essential to reducing capture.

Regulatory capture, neither inevitable nor a death trap for agencies, must be reduced to advance public policy goals.

External and internal capture may be reduced through a more logical division of labor between Congress and agencies.

Closer congressional supervision can prevent special interests from dominating the regulatory process.

It is time for government to stop private interests from gaining improper influence over regulators.

The right regulatory reforms can level the playing field between the public and powerful corporate players.