Abstract
Shapiro discusses the various academic and press perspectives on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). These can be simplified as OIRA as powerful decisionmaker, OIRA as antiregulation, and OIRA as analytical haven. He then compares this with the perspectives the former administrators offered at this conference and his five years of experience at OIRA and point out the limited strengths and numerous weaknesses of these perspectives. Finally, he points out a few academic exceptions to the prevailing norm and urge that future researchers on OIRA use these as guideposts, as there are many questions about OIRA yet to be answered and academics could play a valuable role in improving its effectiveness and understanding its limitations.