Regulation: A Primer

Second Edition

Buy the paperback and e-book on Amazon“Those wanting to get a clear and downright interesting introduction to federal regulation—both its practice and its impact—should get their hands on a copy of this primer. It is so well done that it won’t have to be required reading to be read by any one who lives with regulation. And who doesn’t?”—Bruce Yandle, author of Regulation by Litigation and Alumni Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus, Clemson University

Federal regulations affect nearly every area of our lives and interest in them is increasing. However, many people have no idea how regulations are developed or how they have an impact on our lives. Regulation: A Primer by Susan Dudley and Jerry Brito provides an accessible overview of regulatory theory, analysis, and practice.

The Primer examines the constitutional underpinnings of federal regulation and discusses who writes and enforces regulation and how they do it. It also provides insights into the different varieties of regulation and how to analyze whether a regulatory proposal makes citizens better or worse off. Each chapter discusses key aspects of regulation and provides further readings for those interested in exploring these topics in more detail.

About the Authors

Susan E. Dudley is director of the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center and a research professor in GW’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. She served as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget from April 2007 to January 2009. She has directed the Regulatory Studies Program of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, taught in the GMU School of Law, and worked on the staff of OIRA, the EPA and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Jerry Brito is a former senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the former director of its Technology Policy Program. He also serves as an adjunct professor of law at GMU. His research focuses on technology and telecommunications policy, government transparency and accountability, and the regulatory process. He is the creator of OpenRegs.com, an alternative interface to the federal government’s regulatory docketing system.

Mercatus AI Assistant
Ask questions about this research.
GPT Logo
Mercatus AI Research Assistant
Ask questions about this research. Mercatus Chatbot AI More Details
Suggested Prompts:
Ask us anything. We use OpenAI's ChatGPT 4o base model to answer any question about Mercatus research.