Pierce on systemic bias in rulemaking

Prof. Richard J. Pierce, Jr. (GWU) discusses his upcoming article in the G.W.U.L. REV. on RegBlog in "Judicially Enforced Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking Systematically Biases Results in Favor of Regulated Firms". Opening paragraph:

Many proponents of effective government regulation have lavished praise on the judicially enforced notice-and-comment rulemaking process that is required by section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act and that dominates regulatory decision making by federal agencies.  In theory, the notice-and-comment process provides a judicially enforced means through which all individuals and groups that have an interest in the outcome of a major regulatory decision making process, including beneficiaries, have an effective means of influencing its outcome.  Recent empirical research exposes this widespread belief as completely fictional.

EMM