Historical perspective and better regulatory governance: An agenda for institutional reform

Abstract

Compared to economics, sociology, political science, and law, the discipline of history has had a limited role in the wide-ranging efforts to reconsider strategies of regulatory governance, especially inside regulatory institutions. This article explores how more sustained historical perspective might improve regulatory decisionmaking. We first survey how a set of American regulatory agencies currently rely on historical research and analysis, whether for the purposes of public relations or as a means of supporting policymaking. We then consider how regulatory agencies might draw on history more self-consciously, more strategically, and to greater effect. Three areas stand out in this regard -the use of history to improve understanding of institutional culture; reliance on historical analysis to test the empirical plausibility of conceptual models that make assumptions about the likelihood of potential economic outcomes; and integration of historical research methods into program and policy evaluation.

Beyond regulatory capture: Coproducing expertise for critical infrastructure protection

“…Thus, we analyze the historically contingent processes by which uncertain knowledge is produced and credible expertise is enacted (Shapin 1995;Hilgartner 2000;Carr 2010). Although historical approaches are rarely used in the study of regulations, they have much to contribute (Balleisen & Brake 2014).…”

How did international economic regulation survive the last period of deglobalization?

“…Regulatory history may have lessons for the present (cf. Balleisen & Brake 2014). The 1930s saw one of the most severe reversals of the integration of economies, the emergence of separate blocs and a sharp decline in world trade (O'Rourke & Williamson 1999;James 2001;Horowitz 2004;Frieden 2006;Boyce 2009).…”

Regulation Growth and Bureaucratic Politics in the United States

“…In addition, collaborative governance studies have stressed the roles of private actors (Gray 1989;Freeman 1997;Connick & Innes 2003;Kim 2014). In particular, regulatory governance studies have emphasized the delegation of regulatory authority to nonstate actors instead of leviathan command-and-control rules (Balleisen & Brake 2014;Berliner & Prakash 2013;Bowie & Jamal 2006). Although the arguments of individual studies differ on specifics, they have asserted with one voice that traditional regulation has declined considerably and that the new modes of governance, which Gerry Stoker (1998, p. 26) claims "mark a substantial break from the past," have become increasingly prevalent.…”