Delegating Powers : A Transaction Cost Politics Approach to Policy Making under Separate Powers (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)

Rating:
Summary: A Good transaction
Review: Epstein and O'Halloran's work is a refreshing analysis of delegation under the separation of powers. Their formal analysis captures many aspects of recent research and combines them into a simple yet concrete theory. They have an extensive yet concise literature review and develop an empirical model that well demonstrates their theory. The only deficiency, and a small on at that, is their lack of analysis regarding the crafting of legislation and the politics involved. They note a decrease in delegation when one party controls Congress and the other the White House (which is suspiciously statistically significant) however don't discuss various reasons why this might be true from a political standpoint. For example, during these periods you'd expect less delegation on issues Congress can win, but more delegation as a concession to the President on issues it has a hard time winning. Overall, though, this is a great work.