Regulatory Reform from Nixon to Biden

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Regulatory Reform from Nixon to Biden

Politics, Economics, and Law

9781035331932 Edward Elgar Publishing
John D. Graham, Professor of Risk and Policy Analysis, O''Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, US and formerly “regulatory czar” in the George W Bush White House
Publication Date: October 2024 ISBN: 978 1 03533 193 2 Extent: c 496 pp
This book examines the development of regulatory policy since the 1960s, focusing on how each president, from Nixon to Biden, stimulated reform. Highlighting the increasingly dominant role of the president in the modern administrative state, John D. Graham presents a regulatory reform agenda for Congress, the executive branch, and the judiciary.

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Contents
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This book examines the development of regulatory policy since the 1960s, focusing on how each president, from Nixon to Biden, stimulated reform. The scope of the book includes the newer social policies of civil rights, safety, and environmental protection as well as economic, financial, and antitrust policies. Looking to the future, John D. Graham offers a promising regulatory-reform agenda for Congress, the executive branch, and the judiciary.

Graham explores the public demands that gave rise to the modern administrative state as well as the crosscurrents that led to better regulation, deregulation, and improved rulemaking processes. He investigates the different meanings of ‘regulatory reform’ among progressives and conservatives and how progress in science and analytic tools have influenced regulatory reforms. Tracing the impact of presidential initiatives on Congressional and agency decisions, he makes a compelling case that the president has emerged as the dominant actor on regulatory-reform issues. He also shows the complex interplay between the president and the courts, with judicial review acting as both a check on – and enhancer of – presidential power.

This book is essential reading for students and scholars of regulation and governance, public administration and policy, and public management. It will also be of special interest to students of administrative law, benefit-cost analysis, and presidential studies.
Critical Acclaim
‘John Graham has produced a comprehensive and nuanced account of presidential policymaking over the last 50 years. This rich historical narrative—highlighting the complex interrelationships between presidential priorities, agency authorities, congressional actions, and judicial oversight—is timely and important, especially given the Supreme Court’s willingness to disrupt longstanding assumptions about the nature of these interrelationships. Highly recommended!’
– Caroline Cecot, George Mason University, US

‘Students of government and regulation need to read this masterful history of reform efforts across 10 presidencies. John Graham reassesses the promise and pitfalls of policy initiatives, and he reminds us that throughout this bipartisan legacy, we can still be surprised and enlightened by which presidents of which parties took which key steps.’
– Jonathan B. Wiener, Duke University, US

‘John D. Graham’s newest book combines scholarship, practice knowledge, and clarification of the complex to provide astounding insights regarding presidential interaction with (de)regulation from Nixon to now. He starts by confronting hefty debates around the administrative state, reviews 54 years of presidential (de)regulation, and ends by providing a policy agenda for improving regulatory processes. Added interest is provided by the through line discussing BCA and OIRA.’
– Heather E. Campbell, Claremont Graduate University, US
Contents
Contents
Preface
1 The rise of the administrative state
2 President Nixon: expanding the administrative state
3 Gerald Ford: regulatory reform as economic policy
4 Jimmy Carter: dedicated reformer
5 Reagan’s “regulatory relief”
6 George Herbert Walker Bush: The regulation president?
7 President Clinton: the consummate politician
8 George W. Bush: responding to crises
9 Barack Obama: a blend of progressivism with
pro-business reforms
10 Donald Trump: the ardent deregulator
11 Biden: cracking the regulatory whip
12 The future of regulatory reform
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