The Federal Aviation Administration has failed in its mission to provide a “safe, secure and efficient global aerospace system” because it lacks the knowledge required to achieve this goal. An appreciation of the knowledge problem helps us to understand why the best public policy for promoting safe and efficient air travel would be either to eliminate the FAA or to privatize it.

Paul A. Cleveland is Professor of Business Administration and Economics at Birmingham-Southern College and an Adjunct Faculty Member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
Jared R. Price is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College.
EconomyRegulationTransportation