Regulatory Reform from Nixon to Biden

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.