How worries about reputation shape FDA enforcement
Public agencies care about their reputations. In the current issue of Governance, Moshe Maor and Raanan Sulitzeanu-Kenan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem explore how “the vague concept of reputation may translate into concrete regulatory outcomes.” They examine the behavior of two enforcement divisions within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As media coverage of the FDA becomes more positive, the agency takes longer to execute enforcement actions. Negative coverage leads to quicker action. This is only true, though, when press coverage is relatively intense. “Reputational concerns,” conclude Moar and Sulitzeanu-Kenan, “produce institutional outcomes over and above the content of rules, guidance, procedures, structures or statutes.” FREE ACCESS to this article.
