Alfred Kahn as a Case Study of a Political Entrepreneur: An Essay in Honor of His 90th Birthday

Abstract

The success of airline deregulation challenged the claims of public choice theory, which asserts that regulation serves the purposes of the regulated firms themselves. One prominent explanation for airline deregulation is that "political entrepreneurs" can, under certain circumstances, challenge the status quo. Nonetheless, commentators have failed to examine how Fred Kahn fits the model of a political entrepreneur. By examining Kahn's success as a political entrepreneur, this Essay highlights how commentators and policymakers can gain important insights into how to spur regulatory reform and oversee regulatory reform efforts like that necessary to modernize our system of spectrum management.

Keywords: Alfred Kahn, Civil Aeronautics Board, CAB, political entrepreneur, spectrum policy, public choice theory

JEL Classification: D73, D78, K23, L51, L71, L96