ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Regulation and Rule of Law Initiative, led by Michael McConnell and Amit Seru, conducts research and analysis on the foundations of the market system, private property rights, and the rule of law in relation to a free society. The approach has three interrelated parts: detailed research, promotion, and public involvement.

Government regulation is necessary when there is a significant difference between private and social costs. The initiative will try to induce the large literature on regulation to be more conscious of incentives. Economic and legal scholars will use costs and outcomes of specific regulations to compile examples of the many special benefits of regulatory policy and document the circumvention of legislative intent.

The work of this initiative will include (1) conferences attended by relevant government personnel, journalists, and practitioners, as well as academics, and (2) publication of the papers, most likely in a journal symposium issue.

MEETINGS

November 14, 2022
Hosted by Michael McConnell and Amit Seru, this conference brings together economists, legal scholars, economic historians, and political scientists to set the stage for a rich interdisciplinary conversation on some of the most significant issues of the day.

October 25, 2021
Jennifer Arlen and Adam White discuss Countering Capture:  A Political Theory of Corporate Criminal Liability.

July 20, 2020
Hosted by Charles Calomiris and Michael McConnell, this conference brings together economists, legal scholars, economic historians, and political scientists to set the stage for a rich interdisciplinary conversation on some of the most significant issues of the day.

June 21, 2019
Hosted by Charles Calomiris and Michael McConnell, this conference brings together economists, legal scholars, economic historians, and political scientists to set the stage for a rich interdisciplinary conversation on some of the most significant issues of the day.

June 22, 2018
Meeting hosted by Charles Calomiris and Michael McConnell to examine five papers that provide a historical and modern analysis of rule of law issues that arise in labor and land regulation and markets.

April 13, 2018
Workshop hosted by Charles Calomiris and Michael McConnell to examine 5 papers focused on historic and modern rule of law issues that arise in labor and land markets.

June 23, 2017
The recent presidential and congressional elections present a rare opportunity to significantly reform the modern administrative state. And the task of reform requires a deeper understanding of the modern administrative institutions’ origins. The Hoover Institution’s Regulation and the Rule of Law Initiative continues to encourage the interdisciplinary development of significant scholarship on these issues. Please join us on Friday, June 23, 2017 when a number of scholars will present papers on the history, law, economics, and philosophy of the modern administrative state.

March 10, 2017
Workshop hosted by Charles Calomiris, Michael McConnell and Allan Meltzer to examine 5 papers which provide a historical analysis of the rise of the administrative state. The Hoover Institution’s Regulation and the Rule of Law Initiative has assembled a group of experts to discuss reform to the administrative state with consideration for the historical context.

October 20, 2016
Meeting hosted by Charles Calomiris and Allan Meltzer to address Paul Ryan's recently unveiled comprehensive program – “A Better Way”. The Hoover Institution’s Regulation and the Rule of Law Initiative has assembled a group of experts to consider Speaker Ryan’s reforms. Does “A Better Way” identify the right problems in need of reform? Does it propose the right solutions to those problems? 

June 10, 2016
Meeting hosted by Charles Calomiris and Michael McConnell to address the vital question whether the increasing role of executive discretion at the expense of the legislative is undermining our longstanding commitment to the rule of law. Entitled, Executive Power and the Rule of Law, the conference features six papers by leading scholars in the fields of law, political science, and economics, with an expert discussant to critique and elaborate on the papers.

April 3, 2015
Meeting hosted by Charles Calomiris and Allan Meltzer to examine the theory, history, and practical consequences of lender of last resort assistance in a variety of countries and contexts and how to avoid financial bailouts in Washington, DC.

March 5-6, 2015
Meeting hosted by Allan Meltzer and Ken Scott to examine the critical issues for a government, founded on the separation of powers, to operate in an effective and legal manner, drawing from recent examples of the expansion of presidential executive authority to make law.