The Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program is proud to be an academic co-sponsor of the Institute of Regulatory Law and Economics (IRLE). Last spring, the IRLE held its first program, an academically rigorous retreat for state public utility commissioners. This week long program--held on the premises of the Aspen Institute--included a number of Silicon Flatirons regulars, including Phil Weiser (its Executive Director), Dale Hatfield and Doug Sicker (of the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program) and Betsy Hoffman, CU's President. The program was modeled on a "Law and Economics for the Information Age" seminar co-taught by Phil Weiser and Ray Gifford (the head of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, which sponsored the program) and culminated with a presentation by Weiser and Gifford on the challenges of regulation in an era of technological change (link). The IRLE intends to make this retreat an annual event and is looking develop similar programs for other policymakers (including congressional staff) interested in a primer on law and economics.