by Bruce Yandle
In the latest Independent Review, PERC fellow Randy Simmons and coauthors Ryan Yonk and Diana Thomas have made a significant and useful contribution to the evolving Bootleggers & Baptists theory of government regulation and action.
According to Google Scholar, there have been more than 3,000 references to the theory since it saw the light of day in 1983. But Simmons, Yonk, and Thomas have done more than just refer to the theory or apply it; they have supplied a missing part to the evolving story–the political entrepreneur, the one who makes things happen. Their efforts help us to understand better how the world works and in this case, how difficult are the prospects for obtaining efficiency-enhancing actions through government regulation.
You can read the whole piece online here [PDF].