Commentaries & Insights

Unpacking the OECD Recommendation on Agile Regulatory Governance

October 27, 2021

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

October 26, 2021

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?

October 21, 2021

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

October 20, 2021

This commentary examines how the notice and comment process in Guangzhou has changed.

OIRA the Angel; OIRA the Devil

October 8, 2021

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

October 6, 2021

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

August 18, 2021

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

August 4, 2021

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.

Two Ideas to Improve Equity in Government Decisions

July 28, 2021

Updating what burdens paperwork requirements can impose and encouraging agencies to better engage the public can improve equity in government decisions.

Unsolicited Advice for FTC Chair Khan

July 15, 2021

New FTC Chair Lina Khan has not sought my advice, but here it is. In his July 9 Executive Order, President Biden described an antitrust agenda that he wants the FTC and the other agencies with antitrust responsibilities to implement. His agenda consists of 72 major changes in competition law. Any agency that attempts to implement an agenda that includes that many major changes in law at the same time is doomed to failure. No agency has the resources required to implement an agenda that ambitious. Chair Khan and her colleagues need to choose no more than half a dozen parts of the president’s agenda to pursue immediately.