IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ejlwec/v50y2020i2d10.1007_s10657-020-09663-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of regulation on private security industry dynamics

Author

Listed:
  • Glenn Scheerlinck

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

  • Caroline Buts

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

  • Marc Cools

    (Ghent University
    Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

  • Genserik Reniers

    (Delft University of Technology)

Abstract

As the amount of regulation continues to increase and private security firms play a more and more vital role in a modern society’s security, policy makers and practitioners acknowledge the need for sound research. Moreover, studying regulation and private security industry dynamics can enable a better alignment of regulation to its objectives, namely to control abusive and corrupt conduct of some private security companies and to improve the professionalism of the industry. Using novel data on the width and the restrictiveness of private security regulation and data on firm birth rate, firm death rate and firm survival rate, an instrumental variable approach is employed in a panel data random effect models, covering the period from 2013 to 2017. As regulation increases, we document a decrease in firm birth rate, firm death rate as well as firm survival rate of recent newcomers. Regarding firm birth rate and death rate, we document a gradually decreasing impact of older regulation. However, while additional regulation negatively affects survival rate, we find no impact of older regulation on company survival. Incumbents clearly gain an advantage from lobbying to increase regulation and consequently raising barriers to entry.

Suggested Citation

  • Glenn Scheerlinck & Caroline Buts & Marc Cools & Genserik Reniers, 2020. "The impact of regulation on private security industry dynamics," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 223-240, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:50:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10657-020-09663-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-020-09663-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10657-020-09663-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10657-020-09663-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    2. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "The Regulation of Entry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 1-37.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    4. Gregory M. Randolph & Michael T. Tasto & Robert F. Salvino Jr. (ed.), 2017. "Public Policy, Productive and Unproductive Entrepreneurship," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14939.
    5. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
    6. James B. Bailey & Diana W. Thomas, 2017. "Regulating away competition: the effect of regulation on entrepreneurship and employment," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 237-254, December.
    7. Klapper, Leora & Laeven, Luc & Rajan, Raghuram, 2006. "Entry regulation as a barrier to entrepreneurship," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 591-629, December.
    8. Christian Bjørnskov & Nicolai Foss, 2010. "Economic Freedom and Entrepreneurial Activity: Some Cross-Country Evidence," Springer Books, in: Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Culture, chapter 0, pages 201-225, Springer.
    9. Badi H. Baltagi, 2008. "Forecasting with panel data," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 153-173.
    10. Sam Peltzman, 1989. "The Economic Theory of Regulation after a Decade of Deregulation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 20(1989 Micr), pages 1-59.
    11. Zimmerman, Paul R., 2014. "The deterrence of crime through private security efforts: Theory and evidence," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 66-75.
    12. Nathan Goldschlag & Alex Tabarrok, 2018. "Is regulation to blame for the decline in American entrepreneurship?," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 33(93), pages 5-44.
    13. Richard A. Posner, 1974. "Theories of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 5(2), pages 335-358, Autumn.
    14. Mark Armstrong & David E.M. Sappington, 2006. "Regulation, Competition and Liberalization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(2), pages 325-366, June.
    15. Danzon, Patricia M & Chao, Li-Wei, 2000. "Does Regulation Drive out Competition in Pharmaceutical Markets?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 311-357, October.
    16. Russell Sobel & J. Clark & Dwight Lee, 2007. "Freedom, barriers to entry, entrepreneurship, and economic progress," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 20(4), pages 221-236, December.
    17. Brian Meehan & Bruce L. Benson, 2017. "Does private security affect crime?: a test using state regulations as instruments," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(48), pages 4911-4924, October.
    18. Dougherty, Christopher, 2016. "Introduction to Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 5, number 9780199676828.
    19. Maloney, Michael T & McCormick, Robert E, 1982. "A Positive Theory of Environmental Quality Regulation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(1), pages 99-123, April.
    20. Ehrlich, Isaac, 1973. "Participation in Illegitimate Activities: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 521-565, May-June.
    21. Djankov, Simeon & McLiesh, Caralee & Ramalho, Rita Maria, 2006. "Regulation and growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 395-401, September.
    22. Radaelli, Claudio M., 2004. "The Puzzle of Regulatory Competition," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 1-23, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James B. Bailey & Diana W. Thomas, 2017. "Regulating away competition: the effect of regulation on entrepreneurship and employment," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 237-254, December.
    2. Lucas, David & Boudreaux, Christopher, 2018. "Federal Regulation, Job Creation, and the Moderating Effect of State Economic Freedom," MPRA Paper 92593, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Haidar, Jamal Ibrahim, 2012. "The impact of business regulatory reforms on economic growth," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 285-307.
    4. Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders, 2012. "Corruption, institutions and regulation," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 263-285, September.
    5. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2016. "Culture and the regulation of entry," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 1055-1083.
    6. Mendoza, Ronald U. & Canare, Tristan A. & Ang, Alvin, 2015. "Doing Business: A Review of Literature and Its Role in APEC 2015," Research Paper Series DP 2015-37, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    7. Djankov, Simeon & Glaeser, Edward & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2003. "The new comparative economics," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 595-619, December.
    8. John A. Dove, 2023. "One size fits all? The differential impact of federal regulation on early-stage entrepreneurial activity across US states," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 57-73, April.
    9. David S. Lucas & Christopher J. Boudreaux, 2019. "The Interdependence of Hierarchical Institutions: Federal Regulation, Job Creation, and the Moderating Effect of State Economic Freedom," Papers 1903.02924, arXiv.org.
    10. Evgeny Yakovlev & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2007. "Deregulation of Business," Working Papers w0097, Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR).
    11. Ang, Alvin & Mendoza, Ronald U. & Canare, Tristan A., 2015. "Doing Business: A Review of Literature and Its Role in APEC 2015," Discussion Papers DP 2015-37, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    12. Dustin Chambers & Jonathan Munemo, 2019. "Regulations, institutional quality and entrepreneurship," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 46-66, February.
    13. Trey Malone & Antonios M. Koumpias & Per L. Bylund, 2019. "Entrepreneurial response to interstate regulatory competition: evidence from a behavioral discrete choice experiment," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 172-192, April.
    14. Lee Branstetter & Francisco Lima & Lowell J. Taylor & Ana Venâncio, 2014. "Do Entry Regulations Deter Entrepreneurship and Job Creation? Evidence from Recent Reforms in Portugal," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(577), pages 805-832, June.
    15. Lucas, David S. & Boudreaux, Christopher J., 2020. "National regulation, state-level policy, and local job creation in the United States: A multilevel perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).
    16. Rok Spruk & Mitja Kovac, 2018. "Inefficient Growth," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 9(2).
    17. Deerfield, Amanda & Elert, Niklas, 2022. "Entrepreneurship and Regulatory Voids: The Case of Ridesharing," Working Paper Series 1426, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    18. Mitton, Todd, 2008. "Institutions and concentration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 367-394, June.
    19. Sameeksha Desai & Johan E. Eklund & Emma Lappi, 2020. "Entry Regulation and Persistence of Profits in Incumbent Firms," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 57(3), pages 537-558, November.
    20. Sara Amoroso & Benedikt Herrmann & Alexander S. Kritikos, 2023. "The Role of Regulation and Regional Government Quality for High Growth Firms: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2053, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Private security; Regulation; Industry dynamics; European Union;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:50:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10657-020-09663-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.