Regulatory Burden of the Administrative State
Background
Regulatory accumulation imposes significant burdens on consumers and the US economy. This conference will bring together scholars studying the effects of regulation to advance scholarship and help inform public policy on this critical issue. Although the main focus will be the regulatory burden in US states, we are also open to papers that examine federal regulatory accumulation. A selection of papers from the conference will be considered for possible publication in a forthcoming special issue of the Journal of Regulatory Economics.
Possible Topics
- Measuring the effects of regulation on outcomes like economic growth, business formation, and economic prosperity.
- Estimating the effects of broad deregulatory reform like the REINS Act, or other unique state reforms like in Idaho, Ohio, and Virginia.
- Examining the broad effects of specific regulations like occupational licensing, childcare regulation, or other state-specific regulation.
- Devising new methodologies to measure regulatory burden and providing guidance for researchers and policymakers on how to use the new measurements.
Research Proposal Submission Details
Please submit your extended abstract and CV by February 28th 2025 to Edward Timmons at edward.timmons@mail.wvu.edu. Early submission is encouraged, as proposals will be reviewed and evaluated on a rolling basis.
Research Roundtable
If accepted for the workshop, completed working drafts will be due by June 17th. This conference is a workshop—we are most interested in early stage work. Authors will present their papers at the research round table held on July 17-18, 2025 in Morgantown, WV. Each paper author will be expected to have read all of the workshop papers and provide feedback. We will cover the cost of lodging and reasonable travel expenses to the roundtable.
A selection of the best papers will be invited to participate in future organized sessions at the Southern Economic Association annual conference in Tampa, Florida on November 22-24, 2025.
Honorarium & Other Support
- Authors of accepted papers will be considered for possible publication in a forthcoming special issue of the Journal of Regulatory Economics.
- Authors will benefit from robust feedback on their research.
- Papers will be posted as a working paper on the PLF SSRN page.
Submission & Roundtable Details
- Completed paper drafts are due June 17th 2025 but need not be in polished or publishable form.
- Authors will present their papers at the research roundtable held on July 17-18, 2025.
- We will cover the cost of hotel accommodation and reasonable travel expenses to the roundtable.
- Each author will be expected to formally comment on others’ papers.
Contact Information
For questions regarding the call for papers, please contact Edward Timmons at edward.timmons@mail.wvu.edu.