As a policy advocate, Hazlett argued for auctions in assigning wireless licenses prior to Congressional approval of the reform in 1993,[5] and has advanced further liberalization in the use of frequencies.

[7] This idea was considered highly controversial in the broadcast industry when proposed, but it has become widely accepted: while Hazlett's views were "so radical that the economist's suggestion was dismissed as Ivory Tower ranting," wrote a trade journal in 2004, "no one is laughing now.

[11] Hazlett has also written extensively about regulation in cable TV markets, promoting the consumer advantages of head-to-head competition and advocating the removal of franchise barriers.

[12] He served as the economic expert (for the plaintiff) in Preferred Communications v. City of Los Angeles, the 1986 case in which the Supreme Court effectively declared monopoly cable TV franchises to be a violation of the First Amendment.

[14] Other areas of Hazlett's research involve cable TV price controls,[15] the impact of antitrust action against Microsoft,[16] and network neutrality rules.

In his youth, he attended Los Angeles city schools and worked as a child actor, appearing in TV shows such as McHale's Navy, The Monkees, and Land of the Giants, movies such as Walt Disney's Follow Me Boys, and commercials for Wonder Bread and the Ford Torino.

In 1992, his attempt to assist in his mother's fight against cancer, impeded by FDA regulations blocking advanced treatments available in Japan and elsewhere, was described in Forbes and later chronicled in Philip K. Howard's book, The Death of Common Sense.