Regulatory Reform, Transparency, and the American Economy

February 2, 2018

Government regulation is intended to improve the efficiency of markets and protect people from harms they cannot identify or prevent on their own. But, for decades, advocates have debated whether the regulatory process and rules developed through it are too strict or too lax; whether they properly account for all the things society values; and even whether they make society better or worse off on balance. The Journal of Law, Economics & Policy’s Symposium on Regulatory Reform, Transparency, and the Economy explored these and related questions as leading scholars and practitioners examined a number of recent regulatory proposals impacting a broad swath of the American economy – from banking and finance to energy and the environment, and from employment law to the internet economy. Speakers considered and debated how well these proposals would perform their intended functions and how they might be improved. The symposium featured discussions of research papers prepared by experts working on the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project.

The proceedings of the Conference will be published in a special symposium issue of George Mason’s Journal of Law, Economics, and Policy.

Agenda and Speaker Biographies

Panel 1: Financial Innovation and Innovative Financial Regulators

Authors:
Banking Regulators and Operation Choke Point
Charles J. Cooper, Partner, Cooper & Kirk

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Protecting Consumers from Themselves
Todd Zywicki, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Discussants:
Deepak Gupta, Founding Principal, Gupta Wessler PLLC
David C. Vladeck, A.B. Chettle Chair, Georgetown University Law Center

Moderator:
Paolo Saguato, Assistant Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Panel 2: 21st Century Business Models Meet 20th Century Regulation

Authors:
Innovation and the Sharing Economy AND Security, Insecurity, and the Internet of Things
Stewart A. Baker, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson
Justin ‘Gus’ Hurwitz, Assistant Professor of Law and Co-Director of Space, Cyber, and Telecom Law Program, University of Nebraska College of Law

Discussants:
Alan Butler, Senior Privacy Counsel, Electronic Privacy Information Center
Brenda Leong, Senior Counsel and Director of Strategy, Future of Privacy Forum

Moderator:
Sandra Aistars, Senior Scholar and Director Copyright Research & Policy, Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property; Clinical Professor, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Luncheon Keynote Address

Keynote Speaker:
Philip K. Howard, Senior Counsel, Covington & Burling, LLP, and Founder, Common Good

Panel 3: Regulating the Modern Workforce

Authors:
Protectionism, Antitrust, and Permission to Work
James C. Cooper, Associate Professor of Law and Director, Program on Economics and Privacy, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Innovation, Opportunity, and Alternatives to Licensing
Clark Neily, Vice President for Criminal Justice, Cato Institute

Discussants:
Ryan Nunn, Fellow in Economic Studies, Brookings Institution
Gabriel Scheffler, Regulation Fellow, Penn Program on Regulation, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Moderator:
John M. Yun, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Economic Education, Global Antitrust Institute George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Panel 4: Creative Regulators and Environmental Protection

Authors:
Fuel Economy Standards, Zero Emission Vehicles, and the Regulation of Automobiles
C. Boyden Gray, Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates

The Ebb and Flow of EPA’s Waters of the United States Rule
Adam J. White, Director, Center for the Study of the Administrative State and Adjunct Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Discussants:
Robert L. Glicksman, Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law, George Washington University Law School
Nathan Richardson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of South Carolina

Moderator:
Caroline Cecot, Assistant Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School