Despite three decade of vigorous efforts at deregulation across all levels of government, regulation remains ubiquitous. It is disliked because it is unavoidably coercive: it forces individuals and businesses to do things - frequently costly and unpleasant things - that they don't want to. But few would argue that modern government can do without some recourse to the stick, irrespective of the popular appeal of the carrot. If regulatory programmes are to survive and remain effective, a central challenge is their endemic unpopularity and the political vulnerability that follows from it. the...