On June 17-18, the Penn Program on Regulation (PPR) welcomed a community of scholars and regulatory practitioners from over 20 countries to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School for the inaugural conference of the International Association on Regulation & Governance.
The conference featured more than 50 panels and roundtables over two days covering topics such as artificial intelligence, computational analysis, migration, environmental risks, adaptive regulation, the politics of regulation, international regulatory cooperation, public participation, private standards, regulatory intermediaries, public trust, climate change, regulatory intersections with race, sex, and disability, and more.
Several panels centered around book projects. Among these included a session around a forthcoming volume on regulatory turbulence edited by PPR Director Cary Coglianese (Penn) and Daniel Walters (Texas A&M University), which included presentations by Hilary Allen (American University), Michael Herz (Yeshiva University), and Sofia Ranchordás (Tilburg University). Another session featured an important new book by Yuval Feldman (Bar-Ilan University), “Can the Public Be Trusted?,” with commentaries by Neysun Mahboubi (Penn), Koen Verhoest (University of Antwerp), and David Zaring (Penn). Another session featured Dr. Sharon Yadin (Yezreel Valley College), author of the recent thought-provoking “Fighting Climate Change Through Shaming,” with Jennifer Jacquet (University of Miami), Roy Shapira (Reichman University), Judith Van Erp (Utrecht University), and Daniel Fiorino (American University).
The conference featured a panel discussion moderated by Professor Coglianese of the most recent book by John Braithwaite (Australian National University), “Simple Solutions to Complex Catastrophes,” with David Levi-Faur (Hebrew University), Errol Meidinger (University of Buffalo), and Judith Van Erp (Utrecht University).
It also included two special plenary panels. One of these plenary sessions, on “Global Perspectives on Regulation and Technology,” included experts from five continents: Kwaku Antwi (Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration), Yong Lim (Seoul National University), Gary Marchant (Arizona State), Alketa Peci (Fundação Getulio Vargas) and Nicoletta Rangone (University of Rome).
Another plenary on “Cross-National Perspectives on Improving Regulation” brought together Valerie Braithwaite of Australian National University, Stephen Gibson, Chair of the UK Regulatory Policy Committee & Senior Fellow at Harvard University, and the Hon. Richard Revesz, Administrator of the US Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs and a distinguished faculty member on leave from New York University—with Bridget Dooling of Ohio State University as moderator.
PPR Director Coglianese, selected to serve as the founding president of the new International Association on Regulation & Governance, delivered an inaugural address, entitled “The Ascent of Regulatory Governance,” focusing on the increasing need for regulatory excellence around the world. An essay drawing on this lecture appeared recently in The Regulatory Review and explained the need for strengthening connections among regulatory scholars from around the world.
In the months ahead, the International Association on Regulation & Governance will build its own website and share announcements about how to join the Association and attend its future conferences. To receive these future announcements, interested individuals can sign up to be added to the Association’s mailing list.
PPR Director Cary Coglianese (second from left) at the conference with former PPR fellows, from left to right: Shana Starobin (Bowdoin), Alex Acs (Ohio State), Daniel Walters (Texas A&M), and Christopher Carrigan (George Washington University).
