Book Review: Freer Markets, More Rules: Regulatory Reform in Advanced Industrial Countries. By Steven K. Vogel. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996. 296 pp. $35 cloth
Abstract
Book ReviewFreer Markets, More Rules: Regulatory Reform in Advanced Industrial Countries. By Steven K. Vogel. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996. 296 pp. $35 cloth SAGE Publications, Inc.1998DOI: 10.1177/0160449X9802300117 Bruce Nissen Florida International University Freer Markets, More Rules seeks to combat some widely held ideas about the impact of "globalization" and the alleged "deregulation revolu- tion" in the 1980s and 1990s. Vogel argues that globally, the deregulation revolution never happened. True, governments all over the world adopted policies promoting liberalized or "freer" markets. But most countries merely reregulated and imposed different or even more rules. In general, Vogel argues against two popular claims: (1) the last decade and a half represent a triumph of markets over governments; and (2) the same period demonstrates the triumph of interest groups over government. The bulk of the book consists of detailed case studies examining deregulation and/or reregulation of telecommunications and financial services industries in England and Japan. Other sectors are also briefly examined, and generalizations are drawn about regulatory reform in each country. Finally, other countries, including the U.S., France, and Germany are briefly analyzed, followed by a summary chapter. Vogel argues that the many forms of regulatory reform show the