This course will explore the regulatory frameworks that govern utilities (gas, electricity, water), telecommunications, payment systems, and other ‘infrastructural’ industries. Although all industries are, of course, regulated, these particular areas of economic coordination are sometimes referred to as ‘regulated industries’ because the law that governs them explicitly prevents competition over core terms—restricting entry and exit, regulating price formation, and mandating universal coverage, for example. This type of regulation has been the source of deep controversy and political struggle. And these controversies have become newly relevant in debates over how to regulate online platforms and financial technology firms and as scholars have revisited the ‘deregulatory’ era that began in the 1970s. Rather than learning the specifics of any particular industry in extensive detail, we will explore the conceptual and practical issues common to these industries—drawing from history, political economy, political science, and beyond. Throughout, we will have an eye to current controversies. Guest speakers are likely.
