Over the past 35 years, pervasive skepticism about the effectiveness of regulatory authority led many countries to deregulate such industries as air transport, trucking, energy, and finance.

In America, Congress also cut regulatory budgets throughout the federal government. Advocates of these policies predicted that by minimizing burdensome bureaucracy, governments would foster competitiveness and economic growth to the benefit of investors, workers, and consumers alike.

And then came the Enron bankruptcy, a slew of corporate accounting scandals, the still unfolding global financial crisis, and a growing sense of urgency about climate change. Together these events have prompted a growing recognition that healthy capitalist societies depend on sensible regulation as well as a widespread reconsideration of regulation itself.

But what should “new” regulation look like? The Kenan Institute for Ethics is sponsoring a three-year interdisciplinary faculty seminar, along with related programs of public outreach, to address this question.

For more details about the Rethinking Regulation project, download our full information sheet (Word doc).

In addition, the Regulatory Studies Library Guide and the Regulatory Study Resources on the Web provide links to pertinent databases, resources in the Duke University library, reference works, and to books recently published on regulation and related subjects.