While serving as the Executive Director of the Federal Trade Commission during the Reagan years, Bruce Yandle developed a theoretical framework he called “bootleggers and Baptists” to help make sense of regulatory dynamics. As the old story goes, when Baptists lobby for dry Sundays, it’s the bootleggers who benefit. Yandle’s insight was to point out that “bootlegger and Baptist” coalitions are surprisingly common in US politics. Paul Feine sat down to talk with Yandle about modern day examples of “bootleggers and Baptists.”
Bootleggers and Baptists
While serving as the Executive Director of the Federal Trade Commission during the Reagan years, Bruce Yandle developed a theoretical framework he called “bootleggers and Baptists” to help make sense of regulatory dynamics. As the old story goes, when Baptists lobby for dry Sundays, it’s the bootleggers who benefit. Yandle’s insight was to point out that “bootlegger and Baptist” coalitions are surprisingly common in US politics. Paul Feine sat down to talk with Yandle about modern day examples of “bootleggers and Baptists.”