Commentaries & Insights

Our Commentaries and Insights are short-form publications intended to distill long-form research and synthesize current policymaking activity into easily understood concepts.


Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis—Advice for a New Presidential Term

SBCA organized a panel dispensing advice to the incoming Biden administration on improving and expanding the use of benefit-cost analysis.

Regulatory Sentiment and Uncertainty under the Trump Administration

The impact of regulatory policy depends on how it is designed and implemented, but public perceptions and subjective attitudes about regulation can also play important roles in how it affects the economy. Using newspaper text, I track sentiment and uncertainty about regulation until January 31, 2021 and discuss how they changed during the Trump and previous administrations in this commentary.

Extending Executive Order 12866 to Independent Regulatory Agencies

A DOJ opinion means that the president can require the independent agencies to perform benefit-cost analyses of all significant regulations.

A Last-Minute Attempt to Partially X the X Waiver

Although HHS appears to have the legal authority to provide exemptions from buprenorphine requirements, taking time to ensure flexibilities are legally defensible will promote the uptake of the policies in the long term.

The Regulators' New Marching Orders

Biden's Inauguration Day actions foreshadow a move away from the bipartisan emphasis on evidence-based policy and signal a less humble approach to regulating.

Two Rules President Biden Needs To Make His Ambitious Environmental Agenda Successful

Two Trump-era EPA rules President Biden is targeting for removal could help, not hinder, his ambitious regulatory goals.

2020 Regulatory Year in Review:

This Regulatory Insight recaps ten notable themes related to federal regulations that occurred in 2020. Regulatory policymaking frequently intersected with noteworthy challenges facing the country.

Advice for the Biden-Harris Administration

Time-tested regulatory practices can help ensure evidence-based policies take diverse perspectives and information into account.

Congressional Review Act Update

Based on procedures within the Congressional Review Act, all regulations issued since August 11, 2020 may be undone by the new Congress in January.

Civil Service Reform is Needed but Trump’s Lame Duck Initiative is Not the Answer (and Could Make Things Worse)

Civil service reform is important, but one has to wonder why the Trump administration is undertaking it with only a few weeks left in the administration.