A Legal Solution to Government Gridlock : The Enforcement Strategy of the Securities and Exchange Commission Book

The enforcement ability and strategy of a government agency, more than any other feature, accounts for its capacity to regulate industry. Surprisingly little is known about agency strategy for regulation, however. While independent agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission are based on the separation of power, in many ways they stand in stark contrast to the principle. With a two party system, and separation between executive, legislative, and judicial branches, our government is often referred to by scholars as gridlocked. But de facto subgovernments have developed to administer policies, like the one that successfully regulates the securities market.

The financial industry's perseverance through conflicts in securities policy has been remarkable. American securities, the broadest and most active economic market, sets the standard for the world. The critical feature to industry survival is the enforcement strategy, which regulates securities transactions and provides a process-induced equilibrium among participants. The reason that the SEC and its protective subgovernment have not only endured, but thrived when its counterparts were swept away, it this devotion to a regulatory strategy based on disclosure enforcement that has held the securities industry together.