From the Cover
What Is Industrial Policy? What Is It for?
Three recent papers help us think through these questions.
Behind the Issue
Unintended Consequences
The Podcast of Regulation
During the covid pandemic, it became popular for folks to say “just follow the science” when it came to making decisions about medical treatment and public health. But in this episode – which covers ivermectin, psychologists’ prescription authority, and warning labels for pediatric anti-depressants – Paul and Peter discuss just how complicated the science can be and why both “just following the science” and “doing your own research” are inadequate responses.
In conjunction with Regulation Spring 2026
Features
Could Trump Make America Less Retributive?
The second Trump administration has eased some harsh criminal penalties.
Reconsidering Ivermectin
Despite a skeptical Cochrane review, the antiparasitic is still a valuable tool for combating COVID.
A Tragic Unintended Consequence
Did adding a “black box” warning to antidepressants lower their usage and increase youth suicides?
Prescriptive Authority for Psychologists Is a Public Health Imperative
Policymakers must dismantle regulatory barriers that restrict access to needed care.
Briefly Noted
Oh BOI: Reforming Financial Reporting
Lengthy federal litigation has attempted to stop the implementation of various BOI requirements, with critics claiming they are overly burdensome, unconstitutional, and raise privacy and data security concerns.
Another Trump Turn from Reaganism
President Reagan’s Executive Order 12291 in 1981 directed agencies to regulate only if the economic benefits outweigh the costs of such regulation.
Improving Energy Assistance Programs
The recent, rapid rise in electricity prices is a prominent component of the discussion over “affordability.”
There Is No Labor Shortage
Despite employer complaints of a labor shortage of trade workers, their high wages simply show they are in demand.
Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom
Are professors’ rights to free speech limited by students’ academic freedom?
Buried in Bureaucracy
The administrative costs of federal grants are vast and growing.
Trump’s Carbon ‘Endangerment Finding’ Is a Cautionary Tale
On the regulatory front, however, climate policy has been much more active.
In Review
Working Papers
A summary of recent papers that may be of interest to Regulation’s readers.
Final Word
Trump’s ’70s Show Reboot
Instead of the Nixon Shock, we have Donald J. Trump, a seemingly limitless source of shocks.