Regulation

Research

Evaluating OSHA's Effectiveness and Suggestions for Reform John Leeth, Nathan Hale \| Apr 23, 2013 Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to create a safer working environment. The Act created two federal agencies: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which establishes and enforces workplace safety and health standards, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which researches the causes and remedies of occupational injuries and illnesses. OSHA is the fourth pillar of the US safety policy system, the others being the legal system, state workers’ compensation insurance programs, and the labor market.	Evaluating the Centralized-Layers Approach to U.S. Federal Financial Regulation David VanHoose \| Apr 02, 2013 This paper draws on the literature that applies economic analysis of regulation to evaluate Dodd-Frank’s centralized-layers financial regulatory structure, which continues a shift toward greater horizontal consolidation of regulation at the federal level but now also vertically integrates US financial regulation within the FSOC.
The Employment Costs of Regulation Keith Hall \| Mar 19, 2013 Concern over the impact of regulations on jobs and job growth is not new, but the efforts of federal agencies to forecast the likely impact of regulatory changes have never focused effectively on labor market impacts.	The Economic Situation, March 2013 Bruce Yandle \| Mar 01, 2013 There was only one lane open as I made my trip to Atlanta; the other three were blocked with those unhappy yellow and black make-believe barrels used by the highway folks. Traffic flow was constrained by efforts to repair potholes and broken pavement. We in the slow lane had little choice in the matter. Instead of 70, we were slowed to 20 miles per hour. We had to accept our fate, or find another route at the next exit.
The Failure of Risk-Based Capital Regulation Thomas L. Hogan, Neil Meredith, Xuhao Pan \| Jan 31, 2013 In this policy brief, the authors explain the fundamentals of risk-based capital (RBC) regulation and discuss some potential shortcomings of this system. We propose that the Fed end its use of RBC regulation and return to the use of simple capital ratios as measures of bank risk.	Evaluating Risk-Based Capital Regulation Thomas L. Hogan, Neil Meredith, Xuhao Pan \| Jan 29, 2013 The authors evaluate the capital and RBC ratios of US commercial banks from 2001 through 2011 and find the standard capital ratio to be a significantly better predictor of bank performance than the RBC ratio. The results have significant implications for US banking regulation.

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Testimony & Comments

Financial Market Utilities Hester Peirce \| May 06, 2013 The proposed rules would implement sections 806(a) and (c) of Dodd-Frank, which allow the Board to authorize Reserve Banks to establish and maintain accounts for, provide certain services to,[1] and pay interest on balances maintained by or on behalf of financial market utilities (FMUs) that are designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) as systemically important or likely to become systemically important.	Long-Term Unemployment Keith Hall \| Apr 24, 2013 Two significant problems have become evident through this lengthy period of slow job growth. First, there has been an unprecedented disengagement from the labor force with current participation at its lowest level in almost 35 years. This means there are currently 102 million jobless people in the United States, but less than 12 million are still actively looking for work and therefore counted as unemployed. Second, the number of long-term unemployed is at a record high. They currently represent over 4.6 million people, and the long-term unemployment rate (the share of the labor force unemployed for over six months) remains well above historical levels at 3.0 percent.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Jerry Ellig \| Feb 27, 2013 Even if NHTSA does not develop a more cost-effective alternative, Congress and the public deserve an accurate assessment of the likely benefits and costs of the proposed rule. An accurate assessment of benefits would(1) acknowledge that benefits to blind and vision-impaired individuals are just a fraction of the figure in the preliminary RIA, (2) recognize that there are no benefits to pedalcyclists at the speeds covered by the regulation, and (3) base any benefit estimates for people with normal vision on research that identifies the causes of hybrid vehicle collisions with such individuals.	Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Electronic Stability Control Systems for Heavy Vehicles Antony Dnes \| Aug 20, 2012 NHTSA seeks to establish a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (No. 136) that would require electronic stability control (ESC) systems to be fitted as standard on truck tractors and certain passenger buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 26,000 pounds (vehicles not using air brakes are excluded from the NPRM). ESC systems work by automatically applying computer-controlled braking selectively at separate wheels and inducing lower engine torque output to reduce rollovers and mitigate severe under-steer or over-steer conditions that lead to loss of control in a vehicle.
Perspectives on Retrospective Review and Analysis Randall Lutter \| Jul 12, 2012 More generally, greater data collection, access, and analysis can foster improved understanding of regulations and contribute to reducing regulatory burdens and improving their effectiveness.	The Impacts of Overdraft Programs on Consumers Todd Zywicki, Asa Skinner \| Jun 28, 2012 Profits gained from overdraft protection have been used by banks to expand services and accessibility for customers both rich and poor, and limiting overdraft protection may threaten many of the benefits that it makes possible.

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Research Summaries & Toolkits

Helping the Poor Without Hurting the Recovery Mark Adams \| Mar 04, 2013 The president’s recent proposal to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 is not the way to help low-income households. Raising the minimum wage is more likely to increase unemployment for some of the least skilled American workers and further impede a historically slow recovery. Research from the Mercatus Center shows that regulatory reform would help low-income families without causing more unemployment or slowing the recovery.	The Regressive Effects of Regulation: Who Bears the Cost? Diana Thomas \| Feb 22, 2013 In a market economy, regulations are often thought of as a useful tool in correcting the imbalance of power between large, entrenched interests and consumers. Federal agencies are supposed to create universal rules of the road that protect the health, safety, and welfare of customers and employees, secondary considerations for companies focused on profits. Recent Mercatus Center research casts doubt on whether the regulatory process actually achieves these goals.
A Process for Cleaning Up Federal Regulations Joshua C. Hall, Michael Williams \| Feb 05, 2013 The concern that American businesses are overly burdened by regulations has legitimate grounds. In 2011, American companies had to comply with over 1 million federal regulatory restrictions, compared with about 860,000 a decade earlier.[1] However, to truly address concerns about overregulation, policy makers cannot focus exclusively on the growth of new regulations. Attention must also be paid to the lack of an efficient and effective regulatory review process for preexisting rules.	Overriding Consumer Preferences With Energy Regulation W. Kip Viscusi, Ted Gayer \| Aug 06, 2012 In the recent Mercatus Center study, “Overriding Consumer Preferences with Energy Regulation,” Ted Gayer, co-director of the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution, and W. Kip Viscusi, University Distin- guished Professor of Law, Economics, and Management at Vanderbilt, examined the economic justification for recent U.S. energy regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The study found that the energy-efficiency standards have a relatively minor effect on greenhouse-gas emissions, and—per the regulating agencies’ own estimates—cannot pass cost-benefit analyses based on their environmental benefits alone. To justify these regulations, the agencies relied on estimated benefits derived from correcting consumer “irrationality.”…
Mercatus Center Policy Guide \| Aug 03, 2012 The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is pleased to provide you with our new policy guide. The guide is designed to provide easily accessible economic information that might prove useful in pre- paring for hearings or town hall meetings, drafting speeches or policy papers, and generally educating the public regarding spending, taxes, regulation, financial markets, and technology policy.	Energy Regulations: Protecting "Irrational" Consumers From Themselves? Ted Gayer, W. Kip Viscusi \| Aug 01, 2012 In recent years, federal agencies have issued energy-efficiency standards for everything from cars to light bulbs. These regulations are commonly billed as important efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. But, according to a new study published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the standards have a negligible effect on emissions.

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Speeches & Presentations

Solving Food Safety Problems Without Antiquated Regulation and Inspection Richard Williams \| Jul 08, 2012 The United States system of ensuring food safety (FS) is more than 100 years old and, until very recently, was the primary system designed to ensure FS. The system assumes that primarily federal regulators have the necessary knowledge to instruct food manufacturers on producing safe food, with both federal and state governments enforcing their respective regulations. While there have been notable successes in the last century — such as mandatory pasteurization for milk and other products, low acid canned food rules, and basic sanitation requirements — much of this progress was achieved in the first half of the 20th century. In the last 30 years, the incidence of foodborne disease has changed very little.	Smart Regulation and Competition Policy in Electric and Telecommunications Markets Jerry Ellig \| Jan 14, 2010 Jerry Ellig participated in panel discussion before Texas policy makers in Austin, Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy Orientation on the future of the Texas Public Utility…
The Future of Federal Regulation Jerry Ellig \| Nov 05, 2009 Jerry Ellig was invited to give a lecture at Pepperdine University about the future of regulations in the federal government.	Regulation and High Reliability Organizations Jerry Ellig \| May 28, 2009 Jerry Ellig presents before the Department of Energy, Office of Health, Safety and Security in the Visiting Speakers Program about regulation in high reliability organizations, such as…
Economics as a Guide to Telecom Reform Jerry Ellig \| Jan 22, 2009 Jerry Ellig presents at a Heartland Institute conference about Ohio telecommunications policy. Dr. Ellig discusses the role of consumer welfare in telecom policy.	Are We Safe Yet? Jerry Ellig, Jamie Belcore \| Jul 14, 2008 Jerry Ellig and Jamie Belcore present the process of regulatory analysis at the Department of Homeland Security.

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Mercatus Regulatory Studies

Charts

The Phenomenon of Midnight Regulations

Compared with non-election years, the number of economically significant regulations submitted for OIRA review more than doubles during midnight periods when control of the White House switches to a different party. The surge is rarely accompanied by an increase in OIRA’s budget or staff. Thus, OIRA can be overwhelmed during midnight periods, resulting in rushed, flawed oversight.

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Experts

Richard Williams

Richard Williams is the director of policy research at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His primary research interests are risk analysis, benefit-cost analysis, regulation, food safety and nutrition, and excise taxes.

Patrick McLaughlin

Patrick A. McLaughlin is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Sherzod Abdukadirov

Sherzod Abdukadirov is a research fellow at the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Jerry Ellig

Jerry Ellig is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His primary research interests include the federal regulatory process, economic regulation, and telecommunications regulation.

James Broughel

James Broughel is a program manager of the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center. Mr. Broughel is a doctorate student in the economics program at George Mason University. He earned his MA in economics from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

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Videos

Keith Hall discusses the Minimum Wage on Fox 5

Keith Hall | February 13, 2013

Veronique de Rugy Explains France's Spending Crisis on Varney & Company on Fox Business News

Veronique de Rugy | December 18, 2012

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

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Recent Events

Capitol Hill Campus: Dodd-Frank: What It Does and Why It's Flawed

Please join the Mercatus Center at George Mason University for a new Capitol Hill Campus exploring a prime example of this type of regulation, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

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Books

Freedom in the 50 States, 2013 Edition

William Ruger, Jason Sorens | Mar 28, 2013

Now in its third edition, Freedom in the 50 States presents a completely revised and updated ranking of the American states based on how their policies promote freedom in the fiscal, regulatory, and personal realms.

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More Media Clippings

Evaluating OSHA's Effectiveness and Suggestions for Reform John Leeth, Nathan Hale \| Apr 23, 2013 Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to create a safer working environment. The Act created two federal agencies: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which establishes and enforces workplace safety and health standards, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which researches the causes and remedies of occupational injuries and illnesses. OSHA is the fourth pillar of the US safety policy system, the others being the legal system, state workers’ compensation insurance programs, and the labor market.	Evaluating the Centralized-Layers Approach to U.S. Federal Financial Regulation David VanHoose \| Apr 02, 2013 This paper draws on the literature that applies economic analysis of regulation to evaluate Dodd-Frank’s centralized-layers financial regulatory structure, which continues a shift toward greater horizontal consolidation of regulation at the federal level but now also vertically integrates US financial regulation within the FSOC.
The Employment Costs of Regulation Keith Hall \| Mar 19, 2013 Concern over the impact of regulations on jobs and job growth is not new, but the efforts of federal agencies to forecast the likely impact of regulatory changes have never focused effectively on labor market impacts.	The Economic Situation, March 2013 Bruce Yandle \| Mar 01, 2013 There was only one lane open as I made my trip to Atlanta; the other three were blocked with those unhappy yellow and black make-believe barrels used by the highway folks. Traffic flow was constrained by efforts to repair potholes and broken pavement. We in the slow lane had little choice in the matter. Instead of 70, we were slowed to 20 miles per hour. We had to accept our fate, or find another route at the next exit.
The Failure of Risk-Based Capital Regulation Thomas L. Hogan, Neil Meredith, Xuhao Pan \| Jan 31, 2013 In this policy brief, the authors explain the fundamentals of risk-based capital (RBC) regulation and discuss some potential shortcomings of this system. We propose that the Fed end its use of RBC regulation and return to the use of simple capital ratios as measures of bank risk.	Evaluating Risk-Based Capital Regulation Thomas L. Hogan, Neil Meredith, Xuhao Pan \| Jan 29, 2013 The authors evaluate the capital and RBC ratios of US commercial banks from 2001 through 2011 and find the standard capital ratio to be a significantly better predictor of bank performance than the RBC ratio. The results have significant implications for US banking regulation.

Financial Market Utilities Hester Peirce \| May 06, 2013 The proposed rules would implement sections 806(a) and (c) of Dodd-Frank, which allow the Board to authorize Reserve Banks to establish and maintain accounts for, provide certain services to,[1] and pay interest on balances maintained by or on behalf of financial market utilities (FMUs) that are designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) as systemically important or likely to become systemically important.	Long-Term Unemployment Keith Hall \| Apr 24, 2013 Two significant problems have become evident through this lengthy period of slow job growth. First, there has been an unprecedented disengagement from the labor force with current participation at its lowest level in almost 35 years. This means there are currently 102 million jobless people in the United States, but less than 12 million are still actively looking for work and therefore counted as unemployed. Second, the number of long-term unemployed is at a record high. They currently represent over 4.6 million people, and the long-term unemployment rate (the share of the labor force unemployed for over six months) remains well above historical levels at 3.0 percent.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Jerry Ellig \| Feb 27, 2013 Even if NHTSA does not develop a more cost-effective alternative, Congress and the public deserve an accurate assessment of the likely benefits and costs of the proposed rule. An accurate assessment of benefits would(1) acknowledge that benefits to blind and vision-impaired individuals are just a fraction of the figure in the preliminary RIA, (2) recognize that there are no benefits to pedalcyclists at the speeds covered by the regulation, and (3) base any benefit estimates for people with normal vision on research that identifies the causes of hybrid vehicle collisions with such individuals.	Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Electronic Stability Control Systems for Heavy Vehicles Antony Dnes \| Aug 20, 2012 NHTSA seeks to establish a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (No. 136) that would require electronic stability control (ESC) systems to be fitted as standard on truck tractors and certain passenger buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 26,000 pounds (vehicles not using air brakes are excluded from the NPRM). ESC systems work by automatically applying computer-controlled braking selectively at separate wheels and inducing lower engine torque output to reduce rollovers and mitigate severe under-steer or over-steer conditions that lead to loss of control in a vehicle.
Perspectives on Retrospective Review and Analysis Randall Lutter \| Jul 12, 2012 More generally, greater data collection, access, and analysis can foster improved understanding of regulations and contribute to reducing regulatory burdens and improving their effectiveness.	The Impacts of Overdraft Programs on Consumers Todd Zywicki, Asa Skinner \| Jun 28, 2012 Profits gained from overdraft protection have been used by banks to expand services and accessibility for customers both rich and poor, and limiting overdraft protection may threaten many of the benefits that it makes possible.

Helping the Poor Without Hurting the Recovery Mark Adams \| Mar 04, 2013 The president’s recent proposal to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 is not the way to help low-income households. Raising the minimum wage is more likely to increase unemployment for some of the least skilled American workers and further impede a historically slow recovery. Research from the Mercatus Center shows that regulatory reform would help low-income families without causing more unemployment or slowing the recovery.	The Regressive Effects of Regulation: Who Bears the Cost? Diana Thomas \| Feb 22, 2013 In a market economy, regulations are often thought of as a useful tool in correcting the imbalance of power between large, entrenched interests and consumers. Federal agencies are supposed to create universal rules of the road that protect the health, safety, and welfare of customers and employees, secondary considerations for companies focused on profits. Recent Mercatus Center research casts doubt on whether the regulatory process actually achieves these goals.
A Process for Cleaning Up Federal Regulations Joshua C. Hall, Michael Williams \| Feb 05, 2013 The concern that American businesses are overly burdened by regulations has legitimate grounds. In 2011, American companies had to comply with over 1 million federal regulatory restrictions, compared with about 860,000 a decade earlier.[1] However, to truly address concerns about overregulation, policy makers cannot focus exclusively on the growth of new regulations. Attention must also be paid to the lack of an efficient and effective regulatory review process for preexisting rules.	Overriding Consumer Preferences With Energy Regulation W. Kip Viscusi, Ted Gayer \| Aug 06, 2012 In the recent Mercatus Center study, “Overriding Consumer Preferences with Energy Regulation,” Ted Gayer, co-director of the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution, and W. Kip Viscusi, University Distin- guished Professor of Law, Economics, and Management at Vanderbilt, examined the economic justification for recent U.S. energy regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The study found that the energy-efficiency standards have a relatively minor effect on greenhouse-gas emissions, and—per the regulating agencies’ own estimates—cannot pass cost-benefit analyses based on their environmental benefits alone. To justify these regulations, the agencies relied on estimated benefits derived from correcting consumer “irrationality.”…
Mercatus Center Policy Guide \| Aug 03, 2012 The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is pleased to provide you with our new policy guide. The guide is designed to provide easily accessible economic information that might prove useful in pre- paring for hearings or town hall meetings, drafting speeches or policy papers, and generally educating the public regarding spending, taxes, regulation, financial markets, and technology policy.	Energy Regulations: Protecting "Irrational" Consumers From Themselves? Ted Gayer, W. Kip Viscusi \| Aug 01, 2012 In recent years, federal agencies have issued energy-efficiency standards for everything from cars to light bulbs. These regulations are commonly billed as important efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. But, according to a new study published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the standards have a negligible effect on emissions.

Solving Food Safety Problems Without Antiquated Regulation and Inspection Richard Williams \| Jul 08, 2012 The United States system of ensuring food safety (FS) is more than 100 years old and, until very recently, was the primary system designed to ensure FS. The system assumes that primarily federal regulators have the necessary knowledge to instruct food manufacturers on producing safe food, with both federal and state governments enforcing their respective regulations. While there have been notable successes in the last century — such as mandatory pasteurization for milk and other products, low acid canned food rules, and basic sanitation requirements — much of this progress was achieved in the first half of the 20th century. In the last 30 years, the incidence of foodborne disease has changed very little.	Smart Regulation and Competition Policy in Electric and Telecommunications Markets Jerry Ellig \| Jan 14, 2010 Jerry Ellig participated in panel discussion before Texas policy makers in Austin, Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Policy Orientation on the future of the Texas Public Utility…
The Future of Federal Regulation Jerry Ellig \| Nov 05, 2009 Jerry Ellig was invited to give a lecture at Pepperdine University about the future of regulations in the federal government.	Regulation and High Reliability Organizations Jerry Ellig \| May 28, 2009 Jerry Ellig presents before the Department of Energy, Office of Health, Safety and Security in the Visiting Speakers Program about regulation in high reliability organizations, such as…
Economics as a Guide to Telecom Reform Jerry Ellig \| Jan 22, 2009 Jerry Ellig presents at a Heartland Institute conference about Ohio telecommunications policy. Dr. Ellig discusses the role of consumer welfare in telecom policy.	Are We Safe Yet? Jerry Ellig, Jamie Belcore \| Jul 14, 2008 Jerry Ellig and Jamie Belcore present the process of regulatory analysis at the Department of Homeland Security.