Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
Consume Or Invest: What Do/Should Agency Leaders Maximize?, William E. Kovacic, David A. Hyman
Consume Or Invest: What Do/Should Agency Leaders Maximize?, William E. Kovacic, David A. Hyman
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
In the regulatory state, agency leaders face a fundamental choice: should they “consume” or should they “invest?” “Consume” means launching high profile cases and rule-making. “Invest” means developing and nurturing the necessary infrastructure for the agency to handle whatever the future may bring. The former brings headlines, while the latter will be completely ignored. Unsurprisingly, consumption is routinely prioritized, and investment is deferred, downgraded, or overlooked entirely. This essay outlines the incentives for agency leadership to behave in this way and explores the resulting agency costs (pun intended). The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s health care portfolio provides a useful case …
Can't Anyone Here Play This Game? Judging The Ftc's Critics, David A. Hyman, William E. Kovacic
Can't Anyone Here Play This Game? Judging The Ftc's Critics, David A. Hyman, William E. Kovacic
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
The conventional wisdom is that the FTC was the governmental equivalent of a leper colony prior to 1969, and its credibility and reputation were restored only by the adoption of the wise recommendations in the 1969 ABA Report. There is no question that the FTC deserves plenty of criticism for its pre-1969 performance. It is also beyond doubt that there has been a dramatic turn-around in the intervening forty-five years, as the FTC adopted the recommendations in the 1969 Report. But, before we simply genuflect at the wisdom of those responsible for the ABA Report and the inherent virtue of …