Regulating in Space and Time: The Case of Regulatory Federalism

We outline and test an empirical model of federal regulatory behavior that reflects the spatial (i.e., interstate) and temporal dimensions of regulation within a federal system. A pooled time-series design is used to examine the interplay of national and subnational influences on the oversight decisions of officials at the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM, Department of the Interior) during the period 1985-1989. The analysis indicates that the regulatory decisions of federal authorities at OSM reflect shifts in the nation's political climate, the freelancing efforts of individual members of Congress, and the states' political climates. Taken together, the findings suggest that national policymakers are able to direct the oversight activities of bureaucratic subordinates but are constrained in that regard by "bottom up" influences.