The relationship between regulations and jobs took center stage in the 2012 Presidential election when Republican candidate Governor Mitt Romney argued that the Obama Administration had stifled job growth with too many regulations. President Obama rebutted these claims and argued that the regulations were necessary to protect public health.
A new book, Does Regulation Kill Jobs? (Penn Press, 2014) examines this topic and provides a balanced perspective with novel insights about the connection between regulation and jobs. It finds that the question is far more complicated than portrayed by political candidates. The book includes a chapter by Bloustein School professor Stuart Shapiro, who finds that the current process that the federal government uses to evaluate the impact of regulations on jobs is wanting, and proposes some reforms that would lead to a closer examination of this critical question.