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.


A Flash Judgment

Flash Boys, the latest book from Michael Lewis (author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short, etc.), is a nonfictional account of the development of high-frequency trading (HFT) in U.S. equity markets, and of Brad Katsuyama’s quest to reform the system by creating a new trading platform, IEX, designed to resist the most damaging HFT strategies.

Measuring the Impact of Public Comments

How much affect on the substance of agency regulations do public comments have?

Timeliness of OIRA Reviews: A Snapshot in Time

To gain insight into ongoing reviews, we can turn to RegInfo.gov to get a snapshot of how long the regulations currently at OIRA have been under review.

Australia's Regulatory "Bonfire"

According to the World Economic Forum, Australia's labor regulations and red tape are major problems for doing business in the country.

Rulemaking Ossification Is Real: A Response to Testing the Ossification Thesis

Jason & Susan Yackee engage in an empirical study and claim to find relatively weak evidence that ossification is neither a serious or widespread problem. After a review of the Yackee’s methodology, dataset, time period, and suggestion of appropriate normative criteria, I conclude that nothing in the Yackee’s study contradicts or undermines the ossification hypothesis. In fact, ossification is a real problem that has a wide variety of serious adverse effects.

Why Do Politicians Pursue Regulatory Reforms?

Scholars find considerable evidence that the state-level regulatory reforms are about political gain more than administrative efficiency or economic benefits.

IRS and SBA Office of Advocacy Spar over Affordable Care Act Implementation

The IRS published a final rule setting up a tax penalty for businesses whose employees purchase health insurance through an Exchange using a federal subsidy.

Regulatory Reform: What’s New in 2014?

The 113th Congress is considering various bills that would reform the way regulations are developed, analyzed, and reviewed.