Oversight

Research

Stock Market Reactions to Political Events Jeff Milyo \| May 02, 2012 The value of some firms is strongly affected by which party controls political power. Stock market reactions to political events demonstrate this. However, contrary to common perception, event studies do not indicate that the ability to make unlimited campaign contributions enhances a firm’s value. Geographic and personal connections to political actors matter more, although there is some evidence that personal connections may be rented via professional lobbying.	The Consequences of Midnight Regulations and Other Surges in Regulatory Activity Patrick McLaughlin \| Mar 10, 2011 Is the midnight regulations phenomenon real and what are its consequences? This paper finds that when an administration’s time is almost up, submissions of economically significant regulations nearly double. Such surges in regulatory activity decrease the duration of regulatory review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), likely because of political pressure to quickly approve new rules. Specifically, one additional economically significant regulation submitted to OIRA decreases the mean review time for all regulations by about two thirds of a day. If OIRA review improves regulation quality, then regulatory surges that decrease review time could hinder such improvement.
Spending Beyond Our Means Bruce Yandle \| Jul 30, 2010 The federal government’s deficit will reach $1.4 trillion this year—a whopping 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—and the total federal debt stands at almost $14 trillion. That’s $40,000 for…	The Quality and Use of Regulatory Analysis in 2008 Jerry Ellig, Patrick McLaughlin \| Jun 22, 2010 This paper assesses the quality and use of regulatory analysis for economically significant regulations produced by federal agencies in 2008. A shorter and updated version of this paper was published in the journal Risk Analysis.
Budget Gimmicks or the Destructive Art of Creative Accounting Veronique de Rugy \| Jun 15, 2010 For every attempt to cap government spending by regulation or statute, lawmakers seem to find new and creative accounting techniques that allow them to continue spending recklessly. In fact, there is…	Ten Years of Results from the Results Act Jerry Ellig \| May 27, 2010 This paper summarizes lessons learned from a ten-year research project that evaluated the quality of annual performance reports produced under GPRA by the 24 U.S. federal agencies that account for…

More Research

Testimony & Comments

Measuring the Costs and Benefits of New Rules J. W. Verret \| Apr 17, 2012 After a careful review of the legislative requirements that the SEC consider investor protection, efficiency, competition and capital formation in adopting new rules, I would like to simply offer a list of six items that would demonstrate a sincere commitment by the SEC to fulfill its statutory mission. The first five I will list are in fact required by law if one carefully reads the legislative and judicial history of the SEC’s mandate to consider the economic impact of new rules.	Transparency Through Technology: Evaluating Federal Open Government Efforts Jerry Brito \| Mar 09, 2011 Jerry Brito testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and Procurement Reform on open government and government transparency through technology.
Federal Rulemaking and the Regulatory Process Richard Williams \| Jul 27, 2010 In this testimony, Richard Williams, Director of Regulatory Studies and Government Accountability at the Mercatus Center, addresses the key question of whether there are sufficient checks and…	Public Interest Comment on the Draft 2010 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities Richard Williams, Jerry Ellig, John Morrall \| Jul 06, 2010 As always, OMB has produced a very thorough report based on the instructions provided in the Regulatory-Right-to Know Act. Nevertheless, it is time to re-examine this report to see if it can be made…
Public Interest Comment on Lead Clearance and Clearance Testing Requirements Jerry Ellig \| Jul 01, 2010 The EPA recently proposed a regulation that requires dust wipe testing for lead dust generated by renovations covered by its 2008 Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program rule. Except for a small…	Conflicts between Institutional Investors and Retail Investors in using Federal Securities Laws to Regulate Campaign Finance J. W. Verret \| Mar 11, 2010 In this testimony, Professor Verret notes that current law being considered, H.R. 4537, attempts to contort the securities laws to regulate campaign finance risking and limiting the ability of…

More Testimony & Comments

Research Summaries & Toolkits

Performance and Accountability

Jerry Ellig, Jason J. Fichtner, Maurice P. McTigue | Sep 12, 2011

Congress should conduct rigorous oversight of federal agencies and programs not just to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse, but also because current levels of spending are unsustainable, making spending cuts inevitable.

A Spending Commission Modeled on BRAC

Jerry Brito | Jan 19, 2010

Spending is at an all time high, and cutting it is nearly impossible because every federal program has a constituency that lobbies hard to keep it alive. Our nation faced a similar situation of…

Expert Commentary

Why We Should Fear a Do-Something Congress The Umlaut By Jerry Brito \| Feb 07, 2013 As more inevitable breaches are reported, the public will demand that Congress “do something” about the cyber threat from abroad—even if they have no idea what that something should be. As a result, Congress will be more than happy to act by spending gobs of money on “cyber R&D and scholarships,” by exempting companies from privacy laws, and even by licensing cybersecurity professionals.	Pitchman, Pundit Roles at Odds Pittsburgh Tribune-Review By Donald J. Boudreaux \| Oct 25, 2012 Market competition is an ongoing process among sellers to persuade consumers voluntarily to choose among the vast array of goods and services available at any time from different producers. This competition is key to our high standard of living. As long as consumers are free to spend their money as they see fit, producers must serve consumers. This rivalry among producers is driven by producers’ understanding that, in free markets, profits are earned only by those producers who offer to consumers the best deals as judged by consumers .
Financial Markets Are Not 'Every Man For Himself' Buffalo News By Steven Horwitz \| Sep 03, 2012 What destroys this intricate fabric of social cooperation is when politicians and bureaucrats intervene, thinking they know better who should be producing which things and how they should be doing it. The social cooperation of the market relies on the accuracy of those price and profit signals. When government policy attempts to force prices up or down, limit profits or "bail out" losses, it pits us against each other in a struggle for government privileges rather than encouraging cooperation.	Jerry Brito Discusses the Executive Branch's Regulatory Power and Overreach U.S. News and World Report By Jerry Brito \| Aug 21, 2012 If Congress is truly concerned about a president enacting laws that it has chosen to reject, it should reconsider regulatory powers it routinely extends to the executive. On the other hand, if Congress continues to expand the power of the regulatory state, there might come a time when there indeed is nothing the president can't do unilaterally.
The SEC's Mild-Mannered, but Tough CAT Real Clear Markets By Hester Peirce \| Jul 20, 2012 Hester Peirce discusses the negative effects the SEC's proposed Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) would have on the market.	Countdown to Midnight By Jerry Ellig \| Jun 27, 2012 Mercatus research demonstrates that the federal government experiences a surge of “midnight regulations” finalized between Election Day and Inauguration Day.

More Expert Commentary

Charts

National Healthcare Expenditures

Consumers’ out-of pocket spending on healthcare has decreased steadily as a percentage of the United States’ overall healthcare spending since the passage of Medicare in 1965 from its peak of 43% in…

Experts

Jerry Brito

Jerry Brito is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and directs the Technology Policy Program. His primary research interests are technology and telecommunications policy, government transparency and accountability, and the regulatory process.

Maurice P. McTigue

Maurice McTigue is vice president for outreach at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is director of the Mercatus Center's Government Accountability Project and a member of its Spending and Budget Initiative and State and Local Policy Project.

Eileen Norcross

Eileen Norcross is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Her primary research interests include fiscal federalism and institutions, state and local governments, and economic development.

Videos

Steve Horwitz Explain why Government is not the answer to Natural Disasters on Sun News Network

Steven Horwitz | November 02, 2012

Anthony Sanders Testifies About the Euro Crisis

Anthony B. Sanders | December 15, 2011

Podcasts

Capitol Hill Campus: The Pathology of Privilege: The Consequences of Government Favoritism

Matthew Mitchell | May 14, 2013

Capitol Hill Campus: The Pathology of Privilege: The Consequences of Government Favoritism

Download the MP3

More Podcasts

Recent Events

Making the Federal Budget

Join the Mercatus Center's Capitol Hill Campus and Senior Research Fellow Jason J. Fichtner for a walk through the process of making the federal budget.

More Recent Events

More Media Clippings

Stock Market Reactions to Political Events Jeff Milyo \| May 02, 2012 The value of some firms is strongly affected by which party controls political power. Stock market reactions to political events demonstrate this. However, contrary to common perception, event studies do not indicate that the ability to make unlimited campaign contributions enhances a firm’s value. Geographic and personal connections to political actors matter more, although there is some evidence that personal connections may be rented via professional lobbying.	The Consequences of Midnight Regulations and Other Surges in Regulatory Activity Patrick McLaughlin \| Mar 10, 2011 Is the midnight regulations phenomenon real and what are its consequences? This paper finds that when an administration’s time is almost up, submissions of economically significant regulations nearly double. Such surges in regulatory activity decrease the duration of regulatory review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), likely because of political pressure to quickly approve new rules. Specifically, one additional economically significant regulation submitted to OIRA decreases the mean review time for all regulations by about two thirds of a day. If OIRA review improves regulation quality, then regulatory surges that decrease review time could hinder such improvement.
Spending Beyond Our Means Bruce Yandle \| Jul 30, 2010 The federal government’s deficit will reach $1.4 trillion this year—a whopping 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—and the total federal debt stands at almost $14 trillion. That’s $40,000 for…	The Quality and Use of Regulatory Analysis in 2008 Jerry Ellig, Patrick McLaughlin \| Jun 22, 2010 This paper assesses the quality and use of regulatory analysis for economically significant regulations produced by federal agencies in 2008. A shorter and updated version of this paper was published in the journal Risk Analysis.
Budget Gimmicks or the Destructive Art of Creative Accounting Veronique de Rugy \| Jun 15, 2010 For every attempt to cap government spending by regulation or statute, lawmakers seem to find new and creative accounting techniques that allow them to continue spending recklessly. In fact, there is…	Ten Years of Results from the Results Act Jerry Ellig \| May 27, 2010 This paper summarizes lessons learned from a ten-year research project that evaluated the quality of annual performance reports produced under GPRA by the 24 U.S. federal agencies that account for…

Measuring the Costs and Benefits of New Rules J. W. Verret \| Apr 17, 2012 After a careful review of the legislative requirements that the SEC consider investor protection, efficiency, competition and capital formation in adopting new rules, I would like to simply offer a list of six items that would demonstrate a sincere commitment by the SEC to fulfill its statutory mission. The first five I will list are in fact required by law if one carefully reads the legislative and judicial history of the SEC’s mandate to consider the economic impact of new rules.	Transparency Through Technology: Evaluating Federal Open Government Efforts Jerry Brito \| Mar 09, 2011 Jerry Brito testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and Procurement Reform on open government and government transparency through technology.
Federal Rulemaking and the Regulatory Process Richard Williams \| Jul 27, 2010 In this testimony, Richard Williams, Director of Regulatory Studies and Government Accountability at the Mercatus Center, addresses the key question of whether there are sufficient checks and…	Public Interest Comment on the Draft 2010 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities Richard Williams, Jerry Ellig, John Morrall \| Jul 06, 2010 As always, OMB has produced a very thorough report based on the instructions provided in the Regulatory-Right-to Know Act. Nevertheless, it is time to re-examine this report to see if it can be made…
Public Interest Comment on Lead Clearance and Clearance Testing Requirements Jerry Ellig \| Jul 01, 2010 The EPA recently proposed a regulation that requires dust wipe testing for lead dust generated by renovations covered by its 2008 Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program rule. Except for a small…	Conflicts between Institutional Investors and Retail Investors in using Federal Securities Laws to Regulate Campaign Finance J. W. Verret \| Mar 11, 2010 In this testimony, Professor Verret notes that current law being considered, H.R. 4537, attempts to contort the securities laws to regulate campaign finance risking and limiting the ability of…

Why We Should Fear a Do-Something Congress The Umlaut By Jerry Brito \| Feb 07, 2013 As more inevitable breaches are reported, the public will demand that Congress “do something” about the cyber threat from abroad—even if they have no idea what that something should be. As a result, Congress will be more than happy to act by spending gobs of money on “cyber R&D and scholarships,” by exempting companies from privacy laws, and even by licensing cybersecurity professionals.	Pitchman, Pundit Roles at Odds Pittsburgh Tribune-Review By Donald J. Boudreaux \| Oct 25, 2012 Market competition is an ongoing process among sellers to persuade consumers voluntarily to choose among the vast array of goods and services available at any time from different producers. This competition is key to our high standard of living. As long as consumers are free to spend their money as they see fit, producers must serve consumers. This rivalry among producers is driven by producers’ understanding that, in free markets, profits are earned only by those producers who offer to consumers the best deals as judged by consumers .
Financial Markets Are Not 'Every Man For Himself' Buffalo News By Steven Horwitz \| Sep 03, 2012 What destroys this intricate fabric of social cooperation is when politicians and bureaucrats intervene, thinking they know better who should be producing which things and how they should be doing it. The social cooperation of the market relies on the accuracy of those price and profit signals. When government policy attempts to force prices up or down, limit profits or "bail out" losses, it pits us against each other in a struggle for government privileges rather than encouraging cooperation.	Jerry Brito Discusses the Executive Branch's Regulatory Power and Overreach U.S. News and World Report By Jerry Brito \| Aug 21, 2012 If Congress is truly concerned about a president enacting laws that it has chosen to reject, it should reconsider regulatory powers it routinely extends to the executive. On the other hand, if Congress continues to expand the power of the regulatory state, there might come a time when there indeed is nothing the president can't do unilaterally.
The SEC's Mild-Mannered, but Tough CAT Real Clear Markets By Hester Peirce \| Jul 20, 2012 Hester Peirce discusses the negative effects the SEC's proposed Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) would have on the market.	Countdown to Midnight By Jerry Ellig \| Jun 27, 2012 Mercatus research demonstrates that the federal government experiences a surge of “midnight regulations” finalized between Election Day and Inauguration Day.