Publications [#286623] of Edward J. Balleisen

Journal Articles

1. Balleisen, EJ; Brake, EK, Historical Perspective and Better Regulatory Governance: An Institutional Agenda for Reform, Regulation & Governance, vol. 8 no. 2 (2014), pp. 222-245 (published online as early view, 12-12; doi:10.1111/rego.12000.) [abstract], [doi]
   (last updated on 2025/04/03)

   Abstract:
   Compared to economics, sociology, political science, and law, the discipline of history has had a limited role in the wide-ranging efforts to reconsider strategies of regulatory governance, especially inside regulatory institutions. This article explores how more sustained historical perspective might improve regulatory decisionmaking. We first survey how a set of American regulatory agencies currently rely on historical research and analysis, whether for the purposes of public relations or as a means of supporting policymaking. We then consider how regulatory agencies might draw on history more self-consciously, more strategically, and to greater effect. Three areas stand out in this regard – the use of history to improve understanding of institutional culture; reliance on historical analysis to test the empirical plausibility of conceptual models that make assumptions about the likelihood of potential economic outcomes; and integration of historical research methods into program and policy evaluation.

   Keywords:
   historical analysis

   • institutional culture

   • institutional design

   • policy assessment

   • regulatory agencies