Nice Knowledge@Wharton article on my research w/
@danielhemel.bsky.social on the value investors place on Delaware's politically balanced courts.
Implications for FTC, SEC, CFTC, & other regulatory commissions w/ vacant Dem seats? knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-...
My new article "Valuing Public Participation" with @briandfeinstein.bsky.social is featured, along with other great new scholarship on the "abundance" movement, on this new substack meant to track scholarship in the area. Definitely a great resource.
open.substack.com/pub/markthom...
🚨Call for Papers: Wharton Financial Regulation Conference --
Over at the Notice and Comment blog, today's Ad Law Reading Room entry is "Valuing Administrative Democracy," by @briandfeinstein.bsky.social and @profdanwalters.bsky.social. Check it out! www.yalejreg.com/nc/ad-law-re...
New Paper 🚨:
In this thread I teased a new paper with @briandfeinstein.bsky.social that brings hard empirical evidence to bear on emerging critiques of public participation's role in administrative decisionmaking.
The paper is now public on @ssrn.bsky.social: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
What we need is a theory/strategy of democratic accountability that can be operationalized to meet actual public expectations of BOTH outcomes and process. This thread is exactly right that throwing out process is a nonstarter, but so too is throwing out outcomes. We need new ideas and evidence.
My comments to Bloomberg Law on the Trump admin's sharp cuts to advisory committees--
t.co/2jBkhDvykZ
The Yale Journal of Regulation is hosting a symposium on @petercontibrown.bsky.social & @seanvanatta.bsky.social's new book "Private Finance, Public Power" - a deeply researched history of bank supervision that anyone interested in banking, state capacity, or Am. political development should read.
Very excited that my article "Informational Administration" will appear in the Stanford Law Review's special administrative law issue next year! You can download the draft at papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... It's still a work-in-progress, so comments are very much welcome.
New on SSRN: A firm's size affects whether it can racially discriminate, dump waste, or ignore safety laws. In all, >1300 USC provisions favor small firms.
This article uncovers this overlooked body of law, argues it impedes reg goals, and shows how it distorts mkts. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
thanks to @prawfbainbridge for this thoughtful review of "The Market Value of Partisan Balance"
The road show continues - Enjoyed presenting "Accountability Illusion" today at the faculty workshop at @fordhamlawnyc.bsky.social, located in Philadelphia's 67th ward: New York City.
Wharton Financial Regulation Conference - April 25
Academics, financial policymakers, etc: email me to rsvp. It's gonna be 🔥
Looking forward to presenting "Presidential Administration & the Accountability Illusion" at Duke Law Journal's adlaw symposium today. What a lively audience! @dukelaw.bsky.social
Happy to be traveling to @dukelaw.bsky.social for the annual Duke Law Journal administrative law symposium. I will be commenting on Jarkesy's Stakes for the SEC by @jamesftierney.bsky.social & presenting my own essay on Skidmore after Loper Bright.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Corporations consider spinoffs all the time. Universities don't. If the reason is just empire-building unconstrained by shareholders, that's not a good look for mgmt!
Some synergies with having (1) undergrad & non-scientific grad programs, (2) scientific research, and (3) a health system w/in the same entity. But the setup is also partly the result of path dependence & historical contingencies. At what point would a spinoff improve all 3?
now in print: The Market Value of Partisan Balance (w/
Daniel Hemel) - shows that investors value the requirement that Delaware courts include both Dem & GOP judges.
With federal agencies now in flux, that finding suggests investors appreciate stable, bipartisan institutions.
So, if you're a political appointee to a divided agency, acting in good faith, consider new ways for aligned outside experts to engage:
- advisory committees
- interagency coordination
-subsidized participation for heterodox groups
➡️addresses agency costs w/o burning it down.
We find: Divided agencies take more time considering proposed rules & are more likely to accept late-filed comments.
Implies: Appointees use the time to hear from aligned outside experts. Civil servants, aware that their work will be checked, may be more accommodating ex ante.
Imagine you run an agency where civil servants hold very different views than you. You want to rely on their expertise (hey, we're imagining) but you also don't wanna be hoodwinked.
Before calling Elon, read Divided Agencies! @yesthatabbywood.bsky.social 🧵
Presidential personnel w/in the same administration are not a monolith. See ⬇️
@yesthatabbywood.bsky.social & my article "Divided Agencies" shows how civil servants & appointees differ both w/in & across agencies -- with implications for governance. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
My colleagues voted to grant me tenure. I'm grateful to countless mentors & friends (plus some anonymous letter-writers!)
Tenure in academia is a privilege. I will strive to use it well.
for more:
- Submerged Indept Agencies, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
- Strategic Subdelegation, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Revocations of existing appointee-to-civil servant subdelegations are rare; @jennifernou.bsky.social & my data show one revocation for every 33 new subdelegations of authority. That Trump 2.0 is pursuing this so early suggests a more sophisticated operation than in '17.
I created a Business Scholars Starter Pack (law profs, business-school profs, sociologists, economists, etc.). Let me know who I've missed and I'll add. go.bsky.app/TPJf9ts
💥CFP: Wharton Financial Regulation Conference - 4/25. Submission deadline 2/10.💥
Academics working on topics in financial regulation (broadly defined): we hope you'll submit your work!
With fall term grades posting soon, I like to share Elena Kagan's law school transcript with my first-year students. It's very good, but certainly not perfect, particularly for her first semester. And look where she landed. You will do well too.
3. Either way, Rs would outvote Ds. So little policy risk to appointing Ds to fill the 2 minority-party seats.
