Wenhui, Jin --- "The knowledge basis of public regulation" [2017] ELECD 345; in Shi, Jichun (ed), "Renmin Chinese Law Review" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 46

Book Title: Renmin Chinese Law Review

Editor(s): Shi, Jichun

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781786434302

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: The knowledge basis of public regulation

Author(s): Wenhui, Jin

Number of pages: 22

Abstract/Description:

The dilemma of collective action and the problem of individual coordination cannot be solved by the laissez-faire market. Private autonomy, which the market economy emphasizes, cannot achieve optimal welfare gains, due to the different available opportunities and capabilities of the main market body. Therefore, it is almost all countries’ choice to use public regulation to overcome the confusion and irritation caused by the spontaneous market to realize total social welfare promotion. According to Sunstein’s view, government regulation is not only useful for solving problems of market failure and the distribution difficulties of public welfare, but also contributes to collective desire and ambition, promoting the formation of a variety of experiences and preferences, adjusting the affiliation relationships among different groups, and preventing the transfer of interest groups and rent-seeking action. Like all human actions, public regulation relies on certain knowledge, and the knowledge of regulation determines the formation and the process of public regulation. In the process of public regulation, the regulator’s knowledge of the regulation objects, targets, methods, tools and manners are the key elements to determine whether public regulation can yield the expected result. This regulation knowledge influences the normative path of public regulation and determines its possible consequences. In modern society, the frequent occurrence of food safety and drug safety threats, environmental pollution and industrial accidents have made research into public regulation relating to these social problems into a core problem of legal research.