the privatization of state-run industries. The goal of privatization is for market forces to increase the efficiency of denationalized industries. Privatization was widely pursued in Great Britain throughout Margaret Thatcher's administration. Though largely considered a success and considerably reducing government deficit, critics argue that standards, wages, and employment declined due to privatization. Others point out that lack of careful regulations on some of the privatized industries is a source of continued problems. Controversy Proponents The regulation of markets is to safeguard society and has been the mainstay of industrialized capitalist economic governance through the twentieth century. Karl Polanyi refers to this process as the 'embedding' of markets in society. Further, contemporary economic sociologists such as Neil Fligstein (in his 2001 Architecture of Markets) argue that markets depend on state regulation for their stability, resulting in a long term co-evolution of the state and markets in capitalist societies in the last two hundred years. Opponents This position is alternatively summarized in what is known as the Iron Law of Regulation, which states that all government regulation eventually leads to a net loss in social welfare. Some argue that companies are incentivized to behave in a socially responsible manner, therefore eliminating the need for external regulation, by their commitment to stakeholders, their interest in preserving reputability, and their goals for long term growth. See also Economic interventionism Administrative law Averch-Johnson effect Banded forbearance Constitutional economics Rule according to higher law Deregulation Trust-busting Liberalization Price-cap regulation Natural monopoly Public choice theory Regulated market Regulation Regulation school Worldwide Governance Indicators References Further reading Cebula, R., & Clark, J. (2014). Economic Freedom, Regulatory Quality, Taxation, and Living Standards, MPRA Paper 58108, University Library of Munich, Germany. Journal of Regulatory Economics (1989– ) Posner, R. A. 1974 “ Theories of Regulation”, Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science, 25 (1), Spring, pp. 335–373 Stigler, J. G. 1971, "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Management Science, 2 (1), Spring, pp. 3–21 Peltzman, S. 1989 "The Economic Theory of Regulation after a Decade of Deregulation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics, pp. 1 –41 Laffont, J. J., & Tirole, J. (1993). A theory of incentives in procurement and regulation. MIT press. External links World Bank "Doing Business project" Worldwide Governance Indicators Worldwide ratings of country performances on Regulatory Quality and other governance dimensions from 1996 to present. Monopoly (economics) Market structure Public choice theory