Law plays a central role in the management of risk in society. The rules adopted by regulatory agencies now affect nearly every facet of the economy, and as such regulation has motivated a substantial body of academic research. Law and economics research on regulation has, first, demonstrated...

Following the June 2019 explosion at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery, the city of Philadelphia now confronts major challenges associated with the future of the refinery site. Whether the site is reopened as a refinery or other chemical-processing operation, or redeveloped for...

“Meta-regulation” refers to deliberate efforts to induce private firms to create their own internal regulations—a regulatory strategy sometimes referred to as “management-based regulation” or even “regulation of self-regulation.” Meta-regulation is often presented as a flexible...

The spate of recent corporate scandals has produced a legislative and regulatory reaction aimed at restoring marketplace integrity. This response - consisting notably of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, implementing regulations and stock market listing standards - has, in turn, affected...

Each year, independent regulatory agencies — such as the Federal Communications Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission — issue highly consequential regulations. When they issue their regulations, however, they do not have to meet the same...

Policy scholars and decision makers should be careful before concluding that President Bush's recent Executive Order 13422 will result in quot;paralysis by analysis.quot; That lament has been heard about other changes to rule making procedures over the last seven decades, yet steady increases in...

Administrative agencies issue many guidance documents each year in an effort to provide clarity and direction to the public about important programs, policies, and rules. But these guidance documents are only helpful to the public if they can be readily found by those who they will benefit....

Private standards play a central role in the governance of economic activity. They also figure significantly in many public regulations, with more than 17,000 references to private standards contained in the federal regulatory code. Nevertheless, private standards remain largely overlooked in...

For nearly a decade, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) considered its National Environmental Performance Track to be its “flagship” voluntary program — even a model for transforming the conventional system of environmental regulation. Since Performance Track's...

In an increasingly globalized world, international rules and organizations have grown ever more crucial to the resolution of major economic and social concerns. How can leaders design international institutions that will effectively solve global regulatory problems? This paper confronts this...