Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Harvard Business Law Review Online

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

To be sure, the recent reforms to the U.S. regulatory system are far from final. Even if House Republicans do not succeed in turning back the clock, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”)require so many studies, interpretations, and effectuating regulations that it will evade meaningful analysis for years. And while the nominally bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission recently issued its report on causes for the financial crisis, that spirited document both spread the blame and disclosed infighting so as to cloud sufficiently any lasting impressions.

Separately, the European Union—tasked with confronting the same economic foes while facing its own legislative obstacle of supranationalism—has issued robust rounds of Directives, Regulations, and Recommendations. Similar to efforts in the United States, the culmination of these reforms will trigger debate about business regulation on that continent for years to come.

So where do the two regulatory mosaics agree on primary culprits? And how strongly do they endorse targeted reform? An initial analysis might support the conclusion that the EU feels stronger about the culpability of certain practices and institutions than its American counterparts.

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Also available at: Harvard Business Law Review Online

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