The Unvanquished: The Administrative State and the Federal Communications Commission

In this paper, I examine how far deregulation might go at one independent agency, the FCC. The FCC is a small agency that regulates a large and important part of the U.S. economy with rapidly changing technology. FCC Chairman Ajit has spoken articulately about the need for a greater use of economics at the FCC, and that in turn should lead to greater deregulation. The FCC staff is filled with talented people who can and do migrate to higher-paying jobs in the private sector. If deregulation can work anywhere, it should be at the FCC. On the other hand, if deregulation is difficult to impose at the FCC, how much harder it must be at other larger, more bureaucratic agencies.