The Reagan Regulatory Strategy

In his 1982 State of the Union address, Ronald Reagan vowed to return power to the states. Rather than take the more traditional route, he chose to instill the new federalism through intergovernmental regulatory relief. This book assess the policy's success and the problems it has caused. The book is based on several cases studies from different policy areas. Intergovernmental relations, nuclear energy policy, and environmental policy are discussed in detail. The authors have drawn extensively on public documents as well as interviews with members of congress, executive department officials, and those involved with special interest groups.

"A report of the Urban Institute's Changing Domestic Priorities Project"--Page ii."URI 34200"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references.

Explores the unprecedented influence of executive power over the federal regulatory process during the Ronald Regan and then George H. Bush presidencies.

Was the so-called “Reagan Revolution” a disappointment regarding the federal systems of special-interest regulation? Many of that administration's friends as well as its opponents think so. But under what criteria? To what extent? And why? When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, the popular belief was that the size of government would be cut and that some of the regulatory excesses of the prior decade would be rolled back. However, the growth of the federal government continued throughout the Reagan presidency and no agencies were phased out. What were the apparently powerful forces that rendered most of the bureaucracy impervious to reform? In this book, professional economists and lawyers who were at, or near, the top of the decision-making process in various federal agencies during the Reagan years discuss attempts to reign in the bureaucracy. Their candid comments and personal insights shed new light on the susceptibility of the American government to bureaucratic interests. This book is required reading for anyone wishing to understand the true reasons why meaningful, effective governmental reform at the federal level is so difficult, regardless of which political party controls the White House or Congress.

First Published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

- "These essays epitomize the deep and broad impact that William Nelson has had on the writing of American legal history.." - David Thomas Konig, Washington University in St. Louis - " Bill Nelson's influence] is displayed in this wonderful collection." - Larry Kramer, President, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation - "A fundamental contribution to our understanding of this country's legal history... Fine essays... A fitting tribute." - Stanley N. Katz, Princeton University "A wonderful offering." - Hendrik Hartog, Princeton University