Consumer Safety Regulation Putting a Price on Life and Limb [Hardcover]

Advocates of consumer safety regulation, an active and controversial area of public policy in the United States, contend that markets do not adequately protect the interests of vulnerable consumers; market traditionalists respond that public agencies increasingly make risk/safety decisions that individual citizens ought to be making for themselves. This book, written by an economist, critically assesses the rationales for, and the effects of, our major consumer safety programs. Addressed to a general audience, and incorporating relevant literature on cognitive psychology as well as economics, the author argues that although legitimate reasons for public protection of consumers exist in some markets, the particular programs we adopt often produce results that fall far short of what their advocates desire, and at least occasionally yield perverse outcomes.

Asch writes with a crispness and a flair that make the reading of his book both clear and satisfying...Truly a book for all people....Small, accessible, clear, important, and stimulating. --The Journal of Consumer Affairs

A most provocative and useful book. --Annals of the American Academy

[A] comprehensive, excellent, well-documented book. --Choice

An interesting and readable book for everyone who is involved in ecological issues. --Journal of Consumer Policy

Intellectually elegant and stimulating. --Times Literary Supplement