This paper presents a systematic empirical study of the causal mechanisms of regulatory capture. It applies process-tracing methods to the Vioxx drug scandal that was widely regarded to be a result of capture. In doing so, this paper provides a robust empirical analysis of regulatory capture lacking in the current literature. The analysis focuses on the role of the UK drug regulator in licensing and monitoring a drug that caused hundreds of thousands of heart attacks before it was taken off the market in 2004. We develop and systemically operationalize three causal mechanisms of capture to study the evidence on regulatory decision-making on Vioxx. Through explicit theoretical and empirical evaluation of the evidence, we show that the degree of capture through the revolving door, information overload and shared cultural frameworks was limited. By opening the black-box of empirical capture research, the paper highlights the problematic consequences of (mis-)diagnosis of regulatory capture by scholars, the media, and policymakers.

中文翻译：

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监管捕获机制：以 Vioxx 为例检验行业影响力主张

本文对监管捕获的因果机制进行了系统的实证研究。它将过程追踪方法应用于万络毒品丑闻，该丑闻被广泛认为是捕获的结果。在此过程中，本文提供了当前文献中缺乏的对监管俘获的强有力的实证分析。该分析的重点是英国药品监管机构在许可和监控一种药物方面所发挥的作用，该药物在 2004 年退出市场之前已导致数十万例心脏病发作。我们开发并系统地实施了三种因果捕获机制，以研究以下证据：Vioxx的监管决策。通过对证据进行明确的理论和实证评估，我们表明通过旋转门、信息超载和共享文化框架捕获的程度是有限的。通过打开实证捕获研究的黑匣子，本文强调了学者、媒体和政策制定者对监管捕获的（错误）诊断所带来的问题后果。