Consumer safety and the regulation of industry

The need for regulation to protect the consumer from unsafe products stems from the lack of full information. The extent of these imperfections is examined and it is argued that there are market pressures on manufacturers to produce safer products and that voluntary regulation can play a useful role before mandatory regulations are introduced. In setting targets it must be acknowledged that there are differences between products and between consumers and particularly that there will be costs associated with attempts to cure the consequences of imperfections. Recent trends in the US and British safety policy are assessed in this light.