Many social scientists share an understanding of the origins of regulation, but the causes of deregulation are more controversial. The airline deregulation of the late 1970s sheds light on the latter, especially on how the interaction of economists’ ideas and interest-group politics can drive deregulation.

Gary McDonnell is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at Northern Michigan University, Marquette.
Antitrust, Competition, and MonopolyEconomic History and DevelopmentEconomistsEconomyEnergy and the EnvironmentFree Market EconomicsPhilosophy and ReligionPublic ChoiceRegulationTransportation
Other Independent Review articles by Gary McDonnell
Spring 2020 The Economists’ Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society