John D. Graham’s Regulatory Reform from Nixon to Biden is an ambitious and accessible look at how modern Presidents have put their stamp on the administrative state. Graham deftly surveys over 50 years of shifts in substantive regulatory policy as well as structural and procedural reforms. He is no stranger to the subject: Graham served as the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) during the George W. Bush Administration. Drawing from this experience and beyond, his analysis has much to offer social scientists, lawyers, and economists seeking fresh insights into why so many past efforts at regulatory reform have succeeded or fallen short in their aims.

One explanation for regulatory reform’s shortcomings is the fraught nature of the enterprise. In Graham’s view, it has long been too polarized: Republicans are perceived to tout only deregulation and Democrats the opposite. A major theme of Graham’s account, however, is that political party is not destiny. Graham astutely points to many instances of Republican administrations pursuing social regulation and Democratic administrations demanding deregulation. For example, he highlights the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to phase out ozone depleting chemicals during the Reagan Administration and President Bill Clinton’s efforts to liberalize financial markets.

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