The economics of regulation: Principles and institutions Alfred E. Kahn Cambridge,MA: MIT Press, 1988, Vol. I, 199 pp., Vol. II, 360 pp.

Conclusion Although Kahn's theorizing may be criticized in various ways, there is no doubt that he succeeds in arriving at the correct conclusion. Significant social benefits were to be attained through increasing competition, i.e., through deregulation, in all of the industries that are considered in his analysis. As chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, Kahn courageously and effectively acted to bring about the benefits from deregulation that he predicted would be forthcoming, for which this nation, if not the world, should be grateful.In this book, Kahn argues persuasively for increasing thecompetitive component in regulated industries in order to achieve greater economic efficiency. The message of the book endures, as is befitting the book's stature as a classic.The author expresses his appreciation to the Book Review Editor of this journal, the two anonymous referees, Janice A. Sears, Khy and Anne Alexis Daniel, and Tonya Katsoulis for their tolerance, encouragement, and suggestions. The author alone is responsible for any errors.     

Rhonda M. Williams: Competition, race, agency, and community

As the United States approaches the twenty-first century… in an information-based, transnational and managerial economy, it is becoming increasingly apparent that if we do not better negotiate race and ethnicity in our society, we will not adequately solve the problems of economic inequality and discrimination. Racial and/or ethnic divisions and competition shape our efforts to understand and challenge hierarchy and inequity. As long as we ignore those issues, we cannot solve the problems of poverty, unemployment, and crime, nor effect productive job creation and economic justice. Absent a cultural and economic reckoning with racism’s legacies, we will fail to revitalize our cities and to recover from the socioeconomic costs of “ending welfare as we knew it.” Although masked behind pronouncements of a “color-blind” society, unfinished racial business weakens our national will to provide one another the portfolio of social and economic rights essential to the sustenance of humane community in the post-industrial global economy. (Nembhard and Williams 1998).     

Benefit,cost, and beyond: The political economy of benefit-cost analysis James T. Campen Cambridge,MA: Ballinger, 1986, 256 pp.

The author is indebted to L.E. Johnson and two anonymous referees for their help in preparing the final version of this article.