In the Midnight Hour: Participatory Opportunities in Regulatory Policymaking During Presidential Transitions
研究了美国总统选举后三个月（午夜时期）的监管规则制定中，利益相关者参与机会是否减少。发现午夜规则并未缺乏参与机会，反而在总统任期早期提出的规则中参与机会更丰富。
ABSTRACT We examine opportunities for stakeholder participation in regulatory policymaking in the U.S. during the midnight period, the 3 months between the presidential election in November and the inauguration of the winning candidate the following January. During partisan presidential transitions, do agencies—in a sprint to the regulatory finish line—limit stakeholder participation? We develop a novel typology of midnight regulations and construct an original data set of nearly 1000 rules developed during several presidential administrations. Our analysis demonstrates that, contrary to conventional wisdom, midnight regulations do not exhibit a deficiency in participatory opportunities. In fact, rules proposed early in presidential terms that are promulgated during midnight periods are characterized by relatively expansive opportunities for participation. Normatively, the robustness of opportunities for participation during presidential transitions suggests that midnight regulations do not suffer from a lack of democratic legitimacy, at least with respect to inviting stakeholder input.