Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T09:12:14.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

State Regulation: Captured Victorian-Era Anachronism or “Re-enforcing” Autonomous Structure?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2003

Paul Teske
Paul Teske
Affiliation:
Has been a professor of political science at Stony Brook University since earning his Ph.D. at Princeton University in 1989 ([email protected]). He will become professor of public affairs at the University of Colorado's Graduate School of Public Affairs in Denver in fall 2003. Teske has published books and articles on regulation, education policy, and public entrepreneurship
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Is American state regulation a quaint anachronism from the nineteenth century, hanging on like a faded Victorian mansion in a twenty-first-century neighborhood increasingly subsumed by modern, international regulatory architectures? Or is it a booming area of devolved powers in our federalist system, creating more innovation and efficient small-scale bargaining than out-of-touch regulators in Washington do? Surprisingly, state regulation is becoming more important in shaping American firms operating in global markets. I present a revised interpretation of American regulatory federalism, including the “gap filling” or “re-enforcement” efforts by some state legislatures or attorneys general as federal regulators relax enforcement efforts. I summarize the results of 10 new quantitative studies of major regulated industries across the 50 states and over time. Overall, capture or rent-seeking models do not explain most regulatory areas, which show considerable interest-group contestation and provide room for institutional actors to wield autonomous, influential power. The heightened salience of state regulation is reflected by increased gubernatorial effort in many states, parallel to recent presidential efforts to centralize regulatory policy-making.

Type
Articles
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 2003 , pp. 291 - 306
Copyright
© 2003 by the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arrandale Tom 2002 The pollution puzzle: The federal government isn't solving it. States are giving it a shot Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities 15 11 22-6Google Scholar
Associated Press 2002 Report: Officials get large contributions from those they regulate. Athens Banner-Herald, 28 October, A1
Baumgartner Frank R Brya D. Jones 1993 Agendas and Instability in American Politics Chicago University of Chicago Press
Beales J. Howard Timoth J. Muris 1993 State and Federal Regulation of National Advertising Washington, D.C AEI Press
Beck Nathaniel Jonathan N. Katz 1995 What to do (and not to do) with time-series cross-section data American Political Science Review 89 3 634-47Google Scholar
Beck Nathaniel Jonathan N. Katz Richar Tucker 1998 Taking time seriously: Time-series cross-section analysis with a binary dependent variable American Journal of Political Science 42 4 1,260-88Google Scholar
Becker Gary S 1983 A theory of competition among pressure groups for political influence Quarterly Journal of Economics 98 3 371 400Google Scholar
Berry William 1984 An alternative to the capture theory of regulation: The case of public utility commissioners American Journal of Political Science 28 3524-58Google Scholar
Berry William D Eva J. Ringquist Richar C. Fording Russel L. Hanson 1998 Measuring citizen and government ideology in the American states, 1960-93 American Journal of Political Science 42 1 327-48
Best Samuel Pau Teske Michae Mintrom 1997 Terminating the oldest living regulator: The death of the Interstate Commerce Commission International Journal of Public Administration 20 12 2,067-96Google Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier Janet M Bradfor S. Jones 1997 Time is of the essence: Event history models in political science American Journal of Political Science 41 41,414-61Google Scholar
Bravin Jess Pau Beckett 2002 Dependent on lenders' fees, the OCC takes banks' side against local laws Wall Street Journal 28 January, A1Google Scholar
Broscheid Andreas Pau Teske 2003 Public members on medical licensing boards and the choice of entry barriers Public Choice 115 1 ForthcomingGoogle Scholar
Carpenter Daniel 2001 The Forging of Bureaucratic Autonomy: Reputations, Networks, and Policy Innovation in Executive Agencies, 1862–1928 Princeton Princeton University Press
Chard Richard Pau Teske 2002 The CON game: Regulatory politics and state hospital certificates-of-need Working paper Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York
Cohen Jeffrey E 1992 The Politics of Telecommunications Regulation: The States and the Divestiture of AT&T London M. E. Sharpe
Cummins J. David 2002 Deregulating Property-Liability Insurance: Restoring Competition and Increasing Market Efficiency Washington, D.C. AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies
D'Arcy Stephen 2002 Insurance price deregulation: The Illinois experience In Deregulating Property-Liability Insurance: Restoring Competition and Increasing Market Efficiency J. David Cummins Washington, D.C. AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies 248-84
Derthick Martha 2001 Keeping the Compound Republic: Essays on American Federalism Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press
Derthick Martha Pau J. Quirk 1985 The Politics of Deregulation Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press
Donahue John D 1997 DisUnited States: What's at Stake as Washington Fades and the States Take the Lead New York Basic Books
Ehrenhalt Alan 2002 The monkey or the gorilla? Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities 15 106 8Google Scholar
Eisner Marc Allen Jef Worsham Eva J. Ringquist 2000 Contemporary Regulatory Policy Boulder Colo. Lynne Rienner
Evans Peter B. Dietric Rueschemeyer Thed Skocpol 1985 Bringing the State Back In Cambridge Cambridge University Press
Ferejohn John A Barr R. Weingast 1997 The New Federalism: Can the States Be Trusted? Stanford, Calif. Hoover Institution Press
Friedman Milton 1962 Capitalism and Freedom Chicago University of Chicago Press
Gerber Brian Pau Teske 2000 Field essay: Regulatory policy-making in the American states: A review of theories and evidence Political Research Quarterly 53 4 849-86Google Scholar
Gerber Brian Pau Teske 2002 EPA approval of state implementation plans for clean air Working paper Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York
Gormley William T. Jr 1983 The Politics of Public Utility Regulation Pittsburgh Pittsburgh University Press
Gormley William T. Jr 1986 Regulatory issue networks in a federal system Polity 18 1 595 620Google Scholar
Graves Scott Pau Teske 2002 State court deference to agency decisions, compared to federal courts Working paper Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York
Gray Virginia Davi Lowery 1996 The Population Ecology of Interest Representation: Lobbying Communities in the American States Ann ArborUniversity of Michigan Press
Greenberg David Mar Graham 2000 Improving communication about new food technologies Issues in Science and Technology 16 4 66 98Google Scholar
Greenblatt Alan 2002a Eliot Spitzer: Seizing the initiative Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities 15 10 76Google Scholar
Greenblatt Alan 2002b Where campaign money flows: Stung by aggressive attorneys general, business is placing big bets on races it used to ignore Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities 16 244-6Google Scholar
Greenblatt Alan 2002c Eliot Spitzer: Super-Activist. Expanding the scope of consumer protection Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities 16 222Google Scholar
Hahn Robert W 2000 Reviving Regulatory Reform: A Global Perspective Washington, D.C.AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies
Hakim Danny 2002 At the front on pollution New York Times 3 July, A1Google Scholar
Hanson Russell L 1996 Intergovernmental relationsIn Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis, Virginia Gray Herbert Jacob Washington, D.C.Congressional Quarterly Press 192 228
Howard Robert 1998 Wealth, power, and attorney regulation in the U.S. states: License entry and maintenance Publius: The Journal of Federalism 28 4 22-42Google Scholar
Howard Robert Pau Teske 2002 Regulation of lawyers in the American states Working paper Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York
Hrebenar Ronald J. Cliv S. Thomas 1993 Interest Group Politics in the Northeastern States State College Penn State University Press
Ka Sangjoon Pau Teske 2002 Ideology and professionalism:Electricity regulation and deregulation over time in the American states American Politics Research 30 3 323-43Google Scholar
Kettl Donald F 2002 Dusting off “dignity”: How much further can the U.S. Supreme Court go on states' rights? Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities 15 11 14Google Scholar
Kim Junseok Jac Buckley Pau Teske 2002 The political economy of American state telecommunications regulation Working paperStony Brook University Stony Brook, New York
Kleiner Morris M 2000 Occupational Licensing Journal of Economic Perspectives 14 4 189 202Google Scholar
Kroszner Randall S. Phili E. Strahan 1999 What drives deregulation?: Economics and politics of the relaxation of bank branching restrictions Quarterly Journal of Economics 114 4 1,437-67Google Scholar
Labaton Stephen 2002 States seek to counter U.S. deregulation. New York Times 13 January, A16Google Scholar
Laumann Julie Pau Teske 2003 Principals, agents, and the impact of regulatory federalism on the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s State Politics and Policy Quarterly 3 2139-57Google Scholar
March James G. Joha P. Olsen 1989 Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of PoliticsNew YorkFree Press
McCraw Thomas K. 1984 Prophets of Regulation: Charles Francis Adams, Louis D. Brandeis, James M. Landis, Alfred E. Kahn Cambridge Belknap Press, Harvard University Press
Meier Kenneth J. 1988 The Political Economy of Regulation: The Case of Insurance Albany, N.Y. SUNY Press
Mitchener Brandon 2002 Increasingly, rules of global economy are set in Brussels Wall Street Journal 23 April, 1 Google Scholar
Moe Terry M 1984 The new economics of organization American Journal of Political Science 28 2 739-77Google Scholar
Moe Terry M 1987 An assessment of the positive theory of “congressional dominance.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 12 3 475 520Google Scholar
Moe Terry M 1989 The politics of bureaucratic structure In Can the Government Govern?, Paul E. Peterson John E. Chubb Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press 267 329
Mooney Christopher Z 1994 Measuring U.S. state legislative professionalism: An evaluation of five indices State and Local Government Review 26 2 70-8Google Scholar
Morgenson Gretchen 2002 A Wall St. push to water down securities laws New York Times 18 June, A1 Google Scholar
Nathan Richard P 1996 The role of the states in American federalism In The State of the States, 3d edition Carl E. Van Horn Washington, D.C. Congressional Quarterly Press
Nivola Pietro S 2001 Does federalism have a future? The Public Interest 142 (Winter) 44 60Google Scholar
Nordlinger Eric A 1981 On the Autonomy of the Democratic State Cambridge Harvard University Press
Novak William J 1996 The People's Welfare: Law and Regulation in Nineteenth-Century America Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press
Peltzman Sam 1976 Toward a more general theory of regulation Journal of Law and Economics 19 2 211 40Google Scholar
Peltzman Sam 1989 The economic theory of regulation after a decade of deregulationBrookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics Martin Neil Baily Clifford Winston Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press 1 41
Penniman Nick 2002 Outing ALEC: The most powerful lobby you've never heard of The American Prospect 1 July 12-3Google Scholar
Pérez-Peña Richard Patric McGeehan 2002 Assault on Wall St. misdeeds lifts Spitzer's U.S. profile and makes enemies New York Times 4 November, A1Google Scholar
Petersen John E 2002 States and the markets Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities 15 11 58Google Scholar
Pianin Eric 2002 On global warming, states act locally: At odds with Bush's rejection of mandatory cuts, governors and legislatures enact curbs on greenhouse gases Washington Post 11 November, A3Google Scholar
Posner Richard A 1974 Theories of economic regulation Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science 5 2 335-58Google Scholar
Rabe Barry G 2002 Greenhouse and statehouse: The evolving state government role in climate change Arlington, Va. Report of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, ix
Renzulli Diane, and the Center for Public Integrity. 2002 Capitol Offenders: How Private Interests Govern Our States Washington, D.C. Public Integrity Books
Revesz Richard 1997 Federalism and environmental regulation: A normative critique In The New Federalism: Can the States Be Trusted?, John A. Ferejohn Barry R. Weingast Stanford, Calif. Hoover Institution Press 97 127
Rivlin Alice. 1992 Reviving the American Dream: The Economy, the States, and the Federal Government Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press
Ruhil Anirudh Pau Teske 2003 Institutions and public policy outcomes: State insurance solvency regulation Policy Studies Journal ForthcomingGoogle Scholar
Sapat Alka Pau Teske 2002 State regulation of groundwater resources Working paper Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York
Schattschneider E. E 1960 The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America New York Holt, Rinehart, and Winston
Squire Peverill 1992 Legislative professionalization and membership diversity in state legislatures Legislative Studies Quarterly 17 1 69 79Google Scholar
Stigler George J 1971 The theory of economic regulation Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science 2 1 3 21Google Scholar
Swire Peter 1996 The race to laxity and the race to undesirability: Explaining failures in competition among jurisdictions in environmental law Yale Law and Policy Review/Yale Journal on Regulation 16 2 112 56Google Scholar
Teaford Jon C 2002 The Rise of the States: Evolution of American State GovernmentBaltimore Johns Hopkins University Press
Teske Paul E 1990 After Divestiture: The Political Economy of State Telecommunications Regulation Albany, N.Y. SUNY Press
Teske Paul E 1991 Interests and institutions in state regulation American Journal of Political Science 35 2 139-54Google Scholar
Teske Paul E 2003 Regulation in the States Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press Forthcoming
Teske Paul Samue Best Michae Mintrom 1995 Deregulating Freight Transportation: Delivering the Goods Washington, D.C. AEI Press
Traub James 2002 The attorney general goes to war New York Times Magazine 16 June 38 41Google Scholar
Viscusi W. Kip 1993 Product-Risk Labeling: A Federal Responsibility Washington, D.C. AEI Press
Viscusi W. Kip 2002 Regulation Through Litigation Washington, D.C. AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies
Vogel David 1995 Trading Up: Consumer and Environmental Regulation in a Global Economy Cambridge Harvard University Press
Walters Jonathan 2001 Save us from the states! Governing The Magazine of States and Localities 14 2 20-7Google Scholar
Wayne Leslie 2002 Enron, preaching deregulation, worked the statehouse circuit New York Times 9 February, C1Google Scholar
Wilson James Q 1980 The Politics of Regulation New York Basic Books
Winston Clifford 1993 Economic deregulation: Days of reckoning for microeconomists Journal of Economic Literature 31 3 1,263-89Google Scholar
Winston Clifford Rober W. Candall 1994 Explaining regulatory policy Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics Martin Neil Baily Clifford Winston Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Press
Yandle Bruce 2001 Bootleggers, Baptists, and global warming In The Greening of U.S. Foreign Policy, Terry L. Anderson Henry I. Miller Stanford, Calif.Hoover Institution Press