Government regulation of economic activity is endemic to modern society; a vast array of everyday transactions are affected—and shaped—by rules and requirements imposed by governments. The intentions behind such regulations are typically assumed to be benign. Through regulation, governments can rectify problems caused by deceit, unaccounted costs, or unchecked power that would otherwise limit the scope and the effectiveness of markets. From a fiscal perspective, regulation is a relatively low-cost form of government activity. The budgets of regulatory agencies represent small items of government expenditure, compared with the budgets of agencies engaging in service provision or income redistribution. Because government regulation of economic activity is very often taken for granted and is of low salience to citizens, it is rarely the stuff of headline news. Among scholars, regulation has also tended to receive short shrift. Yet, as an area of public policy research, the study of government regulation deserves close scrutiny. At its best, research in this area can provide insights into the intersections of markets and governments, using the tools of positive political economy to good effect.

Since the publication in 1990 of After Divestiture: The Political Economy of State Telecommunications, Paul Teske has produced a stream of articles and several books investigating state government regulation within specific areas of economic activity. Regulation in the States represents a capstone to this research agenda. Substantively, the book provides an excellent overview of regulation as a policy instrument. The focus on regulation promulgated by state governments rather than the federal government is refreshing. Teske offers a lot of new information both on the politics of state-level public policymaking and on factors generating variation on state applications of regulatory measures. Methodologically, the book also makes a significant contribution. Throughout, the author uses quantitative data and regression analysis to test hypotheses about when, why, and how, and with what consequences, states have regulated particular areas of economic activity. Given the range of state regulatory activities covered, the quest for consistency in the use of data and data analytics methods is commendable, and inconsistencies are well explained.

The book is divided into six parts. Part I contains three chapters. In turn, these review the basics of regulatory policy as practiced at the state level, competing theoretical perspectives on regulation, and issues to do with measurement and methodology. Part II focuses on the regulation of monopolies, with separate chapters on telecommunications and electricity. Part III covers cases of information asymmetry and how regulation can address them. Chapters are devoted to cases in the insurance, finance, and health care industries. Part IV covers occupational regulation, with chapters focusing on the regulation of attorneys and of medical doctors. Part V covers two cases in environmental regulation: clean air plans and groundwater protection. Part VI contains four chapters that, together, offer conclusions on the broader topic of regulation in the states. Here, Teske synthesizes the results from the various quantitative studies, discusses reform efforts, highlights the importance of state courts in the regulatory process, and considers likely future directions for state regulation. This structure gives the book a strong sense of cohesion. In so doing, it meets a difficult challenge, since the 16 chapters cover a diverse set of issues.

Readers with specific substantive interests will likely gravitate to particular chapters and ignore others. I think the book is strongest in its treatment of monopoly regulation and state responses to information asymmetries. Here, the analyses clearly indicate the key role that political considerations play in explaining differences in state regulatory regimes. As such, these chapters underscore the unique contribution that political scientists can make to the explanation of regulations. The focus on the importance of political institutions and the ideological predispositions of legislators for regulatory design takes us well beyond the traditional focus on pricing, dead-weight losses, and incentives associated with purely economic studies of regulation.

Since the range of activities subject to government regulation is ever expanding, individual readers might wish that additional topics had been given chapter-length treatment in the book. Teske acknowledges this point, noting that regulation is often divided into two broad categories—economic and social—and that this book focuses on topics within only one of these. Clearly, scope remains for a range of inquires to be conducted into the ways that states engage in and manage social regulation. On that score, questions arise as to how effective traditional tools of policy analysis might prove in helping us interpret justifications for alternative policy settings. Can they help us investigate differences in the design and effects of state marriage laws or laws affecting aspects of human reproduction? How might they help us to explore variation in the ways that states address public disputes arising out of religious and cultural differences? Elements of economic globalization raise even more fundamental questions. Among other things, these concern jurisdictional sovereignty and the adequacy and appropriateness of both long-standing and newer state regulatory measures. Moves from the traditional core of regulatory practice call for moves away from traditional regulatory analysis. But future analyses will likely gain most analytical traction when they consciously build on traditional approaches. For this reason, Teske's volume represents essential reading for those seeking to produce rigorous analyses of emergent, paradigm-shifting developments in both economic and social regulation at all jurisdictional levels.

Aside from the substantive matters covered here, another feature of this book deserves comment. Of its 16 chapters, 10 involve coauthorships between Teske and former graduate students. In the majority of cases, earlier versions of these chapters appeared in high-quality peer-reviewed journals, where the coauthors received equal credit for their contributions and were often listed as lead authors. Thus, while Teske conceived of this book and the research agenda it is based on, as he worked on it he facilitated the training of an impressive number of graduate students and introduced them to the world of academic publishing. As he advanced the careers of his students, Teske undoubtedly benefited from the sustained practice of enlightened self-interest. This broader project, therefore, presents an attractive model of how a talented scholar might effectively combine the pursuit of a significant research agenda with first-rate teaching and mentoring. Overall, Regulation in the States makes a sound contribution to an aspect of American politics and policy that for too long went understudied. It should prove a valuable addition to reading lists in graduate-level public policy and state politics courses.