PART I: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND; 1. Consumer Safety: The Basic Issues; The controversy surrounding consumer protection; The fundamental question: Why public protection?; Summary; 2. The Institutional Setting: An Overview of Consumer Safety Policies in the United States and Great Britain; American policies; British policies; Conclusion; PART II: WHY PUBLIC PROTECTION?; 3. Why Public Protection: Traditional Economic Arguments; Market efficiency; The consumer in economic theory; Market failure and government intervention; Conclusion
4. Why Public Protection: Nontraditional and ""Noneconomic"" ArgumentsSafety as a right; Human failure: Evidence of consumer ""irrationality"" and ""incompetence""; The competent consumer: Does the notion survive?; Paternalism; Conclusion; 5. The Analytics of Misperception; Effects of risk misperception on demands for safety; Implications for public policy; Conclusion; PART III: REGULATORY POLICIES; 6. Policy Formulation in the Major Regulatory Agencies; Safety regulation: Principles and constraints; Agency approaches to policy; Conclusion; 7. Policy Evaluations: The Evidence; Introduction
Direct regulationTrends in products liability; Conclusion; 8. Consumer Safety Regulation and Consumer Welfare; Make it safe-At any cost?; Is efficiency a poor criterion for safety regulation?; Inconsistency in regulation; Future research; Final observations; Bibliography; Index of Cases; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z
