Regulation and Abundance: A 2026 Research Conference at West Virginia University
Background
We are pleased to formally invite paper submissions for Regulation and Abundance.
Sponsored by the Knee Regulatory Research Center, Pacific Legal Foundation, and the Institute for Humane Studies, this conference will be held at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University July 8–9, 2026.
Abundance represents the opportunity for all people to afford a flourishing life. This flourishing requires the removal of barriers that promote artificial scarcity within a society, creating possibilities—not restricting them. The 2026 conference focuses on how regulation affects our ability to attain an abundant future—one with better economic opportunity, lower costs, and an abundant supply of healthcare, housing, and energy. Topics may span all areas within economics, policy, and bureaucracy with a unifying theme of regulation.
Some examples of restrictive regulations may include licensing laws that create barriers to licensing portability, regulations within healthcare that prohibit practitioners from fully practicing to the best of their knowledge and capabilities, utility rules and practices that prevent competition, environmental laws that enable vetocracy, zoning or land use laws that prevent development of resources or land, and child-care facility regulations that create exorbitant costs to families and limit options for parents.
Because not all regulation is equally effective or ineffective, we are also interested in comparing different regulatory structures. More positive regulatory policies may rely upon market-based structures to enhance welfare effects, internalize externalities, improve worker safety, bolster productivity gains, increase service quality, and more. We are interested in both state and federal regulatory policies for the purposes of this conference call for papers.
Regulatory policy molds the foundations of society, and crafts the functioning and affordability of everyday life. Ensuring that regulation allows for an abundant life for all is a top priority.
Applicable Research Topics
While we welcome all research proposals, we are particularly interested in papers related to the following:
- Licensing barriers affecting labor supply
- Regulatory barriers affecting healthcare abundance
- Regulatory policy outcomes on labor or health (supply- or demand-side) outcomes
- The economic effects of different regulatory systems
- The effects of regulation on housing abundance
- How regulation affects energy abundance
- Geothermal resource development
- Mining, rare-earth elements, and critical mineral development
- Competition and monopoly comparisons in utility services
Keynote Address
The conference will include an evening keynote address from a top expert in regulation policy, followed by a group dinner.
Collaborative Integration
If we’re a scholar, we’re writing papers with policy implications—but when was the last time we sat down with a legislator or litigator to learn how they use our work? If we’re a litigator or policymaker, when was the last time we spoke with an academic to understand their work for more effective policymaking?
In a special working session, a panel of legislators, litigators, and academics working with policy discuss their experiences for learning, communication, and networking across professions.
Honorarium, Deadlines, and Submission Details
To receive full consideration, please submit your abstract and CVs via email by April 15, 2026, to .
Conference acceptance will be competitive because space is limited to ensure all participants get appropriate feedback on their manuscripts. Honoraria of $1,000 will be paid to all conference participants. Lodging and meals will be provided for presenting authors. After the conference, the participants will be given the opportunity to revise their manuscripts based on feedback during the conference. Those final revised papers will then be aimed at publication in a special topics issue of a premier peer-reviewed journal. Policy-focused papers will be considered for publication in Pacific Legal Foundation’s paper series.
Contact Information
For questions regarding the call for papers, please contact .
Honorarium and Other Support
- Authors of accepted papers will receive a $1,000 honorarium.
- Papers will be presented at a conference at John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University on July 8–9, 2026.
- Lodging and meals will be provided for presenting authors.
- Papers will be published in a special topics issue of a premier peer-reviewed journal.
- Policy-focused papers will be considered for publication in Pacific Legal Foundation’s paper series.
Conference
- Submit your abstract and CVs by April 15, 2026 to .
- Authors will present their papers at a roundtable at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University on July 8–9, 2026.
Contact Information
For questions regarding the call for papers, please contact .