The Conservative Case for Private Enforcement
The Conservative Case for Private Enforcement
Markets need rules. Who is the best policeman? Drawing on the work of Gary Becker and George Stigler, as well as conservative and libertarian theories of privatization from the “Chicago School” and “Austrian School” of economics, this chapter argues that the private attorney general is better than the public attorney general. Relying on private lawyers means smaller government and more self help. Moreover, private lawyers should outperform government lawyers because they are profit motivated, have superior resources, are less prone to capture by special interests, and less centralized. This is not just theory: it is confirmed by empirical studies.
Keywords: conservative, libertarian, privatization, Gary Becker, George Stigler, empirical, private attorney general, Chicago School, Austrian School
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