Fewer, Faster, Smarter

Abstract

Academic debates about how to regulate new technologies have moved from theory to practice, as the digital revolution now proceeds to remake nearly every industry, especially those left largely unchanged in earlier phases of disruptive innovation. Applying square regulations to round innovations, however, doesn't work. This essay argues for a radical new approach to regulation of emerging technologies, based on a return to first principles of regulation as a solution to collective action problems for which market mechanisms remain the higher-cost alternative.

Keywords: regulation of technology, disruptive innovation, collective action, regulatory capture

JEL Classification: D21, D23, D72, D78, K20, L43, L51, O31, O33, O34, O38