An ethical defense of regulatory forbearance
By: WOLLER, Gary
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Contributor(s): BRADY, F. Neil.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: New York : Marcel Dekker, 1995International Journal of Public Administration - IJPA 18, 5, p. 851-877Abstract: Forbearance is one of the principal tools of regulatory enforcement. To regulatory critics, forbearance is reflective of venal, lazy, or weak regulators more interested in pursuing private gains than the public interest. To enforcement officials, however, such views reflect unrealistic images of regulated firms and the regulatory environment. Rather, they see forbearance as a rational and ethical response to the complexities of economic and social regulation. The ethical justification for forbearance is rooted in utilitarian moral philosophy, in which forbearance is seen as the most effective way to promote the social purposes of regulation. Nonetheless, individual acts of forbearance may fail to fulfill utilitarian ethical standards. This occurs when forbearance becomes a routinized application of organizational or extra-organizational norms, instead of a case-by-case strategy of regulatory enforcement.
Forbearance is one of the principal tools of regulatory enforcement. To regulatory critics, forbearance is reflective of venal, lazy, or weak regulators more interested in pursuing private gains than the public interest. To enforcement officials, however, such views reflect unrealistic images of regulated firms and the regulatory environment. Rather, they see forbearance as a rational and ethical response to the complexities of economic and social regulation. The ethical justification for forbearance is rooted in utilitarian moral philosophy, in which forbearance is seen as the most effective way to promote the social purposes of regulation. Nonetheless, individual acts of forbearance may fail to fulfill utilitarian ethical standards. This occurs when forbearance becomes a routinized application of organizational or extra-organizational norms, instead of a case-by-case strategy of regulatory enforcement.
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