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The Origins of State Pure Food Regulation

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  • LAW, MARC T.

Abstract

Why did state governments begin to regulate the food industry in the late nineteenth century? One possible explanation is that pure food regulation was the result of rent seeking on the part of traditional food producers who wanted to limit the availability of new substitutes. Another potential hypothesis is that regulation was desired because it helped solve an asymmetric information problem in the market for food products. I find the evidence to be more consistent with the latter hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Law, Marc T., 2003. "The Origins of State Pure Food Regulation," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(4), pages 1103-1130, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:63:y:2003:i:04:p:1103-1130_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Logan, Trevon D., 2006. "Food, nutrition, and substitution in the late nineteenth century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 527-545, July.
    2. Marc Law & Gary D. Libecap, 2006. "The Determinants of Progressive Era Reform. The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906," NBER Chapters, in: Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History, pages 319-342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Zeynep K. Hansen & Marc T. Law, 2008. "The Political Economy of Truth-in-Advertising Regulation during the Progressive Era," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 251-269, May.
    4. Daniel Carpenter, 2014. "Accounting for Financial Innovation and Borrower Confidence in Financial Rule Making: Analogies from Health Policy," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(S2), pages 331-349.
    5. Law, Marc T. & Kim, Sukkoo, 2005. "Specialization and Regulation: The Rise of Professionals and the Emergence of Occupational Licensing Regulation," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(3), pages 723-756, September.
    6. Susanne Wengle, 2016. "When experimentalist governance meets science‐based regulations; the case of food safety regulations," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(3), pages 262-283, September.
    7. Franck, Raphaël & Johnson, Noel D. & Nye, John V.C., 2014. "From internal taxes to national regulation: Evidence from a French wine tax reform at the turn of the twentieth century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 77-93.
    8. Daniel Carpenter & Justin Grimmer & Eric Lomazoff, 2010. "Approval regulation and endogenous consumer confidence: Theory and analogies to licensing, safety, and financial regulation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(4), pages 383-407, December.
    9. Daniel J. Smith & Macy Scheck, 2023. "Examining the public interest rationale for regulating whiskey with the pure food and drugs act," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 196(1), pages 85-122, July.

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