Law Professors on Regulation
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
“Regulation and Regulatory Processes” by Coglianese and Kagan.
Abstract: Regulation of business activity is nearly as old as law itself. In the last century, though, the use of regulation by modern governments has grown markedly in both volume and significance, to the point where nearly every facet of today’s economy is subject to some form of regulation. When successful, regulation can deliver important benefits to society; however, regulation can also impose undue costs on the economy and, when designed or implemented poorly, fail to meet public needs at all. Given the importance of sound regulation to society, its study by scholars of law and social science is also of paramount importance. In this chapter, we review the state of the field by focusing on four major areas of empirical research: (1) regulatory policy making, (2) regulatory enforcement, (3) business responses to regulation, and (4) innovative models of regulation. We begin by reviewing the political economy literature on the factors that influence government regulators as well as the ways that overseers may use administrative procedures to affect decisions of regulatory agencies. We next highlight the varied empirical findings on adversarial versus cooperative enforcement styles. We then review explanations for business responses to regulatory pressures, including the range of factors influencing compliance and beyond-compliance behavior. Finally, we survey the ever-growing research literature on innovative approaches to regulation, including self-regulation, performance standards, and market-based incentives. This chapter serves both as a stand-alone account of the existing state of empirical regulatory research by political scientists and researchers from other disciplines, as well as an introduction to the authors’ edited volume that reprints a diverse collection of classic studies of regulation and regulatory processes.
“Transparency and Public Participation in the Rulemaking Process” by Coglianese, Kilmartin and Mendelson.
Abstract: Each year, federal regulatory agencies create thousands of new rules that affect the economy. When these agencies insulate themselves too much from the public, they are more likely to make suboptimal decisions and decrease public acceptance of their resulting rules. A nonpartisan Task Force on Transparency and Public Participation met in 2008 to identify current deficiencies in agency rule making procedures and develop recommendations for the next presidential administration to improve the quality of regulations and the legitimacy of regulatory proceedings. This report summarizes the Task Force’s deliberations, indicating ways that federal agencies could do a better job of seeking citizen comment earlier in the rule making process and of reaching out to all affected groups in an evenhanded manner. The report includes not only targeted recommendations on transparency and public participation, but also strategic-management recommendations which, if adopted, should help ensure that agencies continue to improve their transparency and public participation practices over time.
Bottom Line: Understand regulation BEFORE you do it! [Read Wilson's Bureaucracy]
We want to hear your thoughts on conservation so we make this a better world. Register on Conservation Blog now and get published within minutes. Before posting, it is recommended that you review our posting guidelines.
