Our Commentaries and Insights are short-form publications intended to distill long-form research and synthesize current policymaking activity into easily understood concepts.
Increasing Early, Transparent Consideration of Regulatory Alternatives
In an article originally published by The Regulatory Review, Professors Carrigan and Shapiro summarize their research on studying agency consideration of alternatives during rulemakings.
ACUS Publishes Draft Recommendations to Improve the Congressional Review Act
A new project at the Administrative Conference of the United States will consider technical reforms to the Congressional Review Act. The recently-issued draft report is an excellent primer on the details of regulatory agency and congressional staff implementation of the CRA. It provides a deep dive analysis of several policy options available to Congress to improve the CRA. ACUS is going through its process to develop draft recommendations now.
Unpacking the OECD Recommendation on Agile Regulatory Governance
On October 6, the OECD Council adopted a Recommendation at the ministerial level related to agile regulatory governance. The Recommendation is designed to help governments consider regulatory structures that best bolster innovation in their countries. Overall, this Recommendation signals that the OECD sees regulation focused on promoting innovation as valuable—particularly in light of the rapidly-evolving nature of emerging technologies.
Benefits of a Rowdy Bureaucracy
Professor Andrew Rudalevige's book introduces us to a core idea: the executive branch matters to executive orders.
What’s the Status of the Biden Administration’s Workplace Vaccine Mandate?
The workplace vaccine mandate faces steep legal and practical challenges, but the president’s announcement may still help drive up vaccination rates.
Notice and Comment Policymaking in China
This commentary examines how the notice and comment process in Guangzhou has changed.
OIRA the Angel; OIRA the Devil
In their most recent book, Reviving Rationality, Mike Livermore and Ricky Revesz build on their record of support for the use of analytical tools, particularly cost-benefit analysis, to evaluate rules prior to their issuance.
Skipping Notice and Comment Over Time
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs makes regulatory review data on interim-final rules easily accessible. Analyzing interim-final rules that have gone through regulatory review over time can shed light on the success of agency efforts to bypass the notice-and-comment process.
A Midyear Review of Regulatory Sentiment and Uncertainty
This commentary provides a midyear review highlighting patterns in the news-based measures of regulatory sentiment and uncertainty during the past months of 2021. Regulatory sentiment reached a historically high point in May, and regulatory uncertainty rose in July.
Distributional Language in Regulatory Executive Orders
To achieve the goals outlined in Biden's Modernizing Regulatory Review Memorandum, federal agencies will likely build on the distributional language of the executive orders highlighted in this commentary.
