The Rationality of U.S. Regulation of the Broadcast Spectrum in the 1934 Communications Act

Thomas Hazlett ()

Review of Industrial Organization, 2014, vol. 45, issue 3, 203-220

Abstract: The Federal Radio Commission regulated radio broadcasting, 1927–1934. With the passage of the Communications Act of 1934, the 1927 Radio Act (enabling the Commission) was re-enacted in whole. This congressional endorsement yields key evidence as to what policy outcomes were intended, differentiating competing theories for the origins of spectrum allocation law: Coase (J Law Econ 2(1):1–40, 1959 ), emphasizing policy error; Hazlett (J Law Econ 33:133–175, 1990 ), focusing on “franchise rents” in a public choice framework; and the “public interest” hypothesis, reconstructed by Moss and Fein (J Policy Hist 15(4):389–416, 2003 ). Congress’ revealed preferences prove consistent with the franchise rents theory, while contradicting the other two. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Keywords: Political economy; Spectrum allocation; Rent-seeking; Public interest (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1007/s11151-014-9429-9

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