Experimental Legislation (1904)

Experimental Legislation is a book written by William Stanley Jevons and published in 1904. Jevons was a British economist and logician known for his contributions to the development of the marginal revolution in economics. In this book, Jevons argues for a scientific approach to legislation, where laws are tested and evaluated through experimentation. He believes that this approach would lead to more effective and efficient laws, as well as greater public trust in the legislative process.Jevons begins the book by discussing the limitations of traditional legislative processes, which he sees as relying too heavily on intuition and anecdotal evidence. He argues that experimentation is a more reliable method for determining the effects of laws, and that it can be used to test a wide range of legislative proposals, from tax policies to criminal justice reforms.Throughout the book, Jevons provides numerous examples of experimental legislation, both from history and from his own time. He discusses the use of experiments to determine the effects of alcohol taxes, labor laws, and even the design of voting ballots. Jevons also considers the ethical concerns raised by experimental legislation, such as the potential harm to those affected by the experiments.Overall, Experimental Legislation is a thought-provoking book that challenges traditional approaches to lawmaking. It offers a vision of a more scientific and evidence-based legislative process, and raises important questions about the role of experimentation in shaping public policy.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.