Progress in a Pandemic
by Sean Mooney (’22)
For the last two months I have had the pleasure of interning for the regulatory department of the Niskanen Center. When I committed to Wake Washington pre-COVID, I had professional interest in policy research but no experience. This summer, I took a data and policy course at the University of Chicago that changed the way I view policy analysis and gave me concrete data research skills. I found myself in the middle of the summer taking two courses from Wake, the UChicago course, and attempting to apply to research related internships. Ultimately, I sent out 16 applications (all government or think tank) while completing the two Wake courses, accepting the internship of my top choice. This left me a few weeks of the data program with relatively few distractions during which I tried to maximize the learning opportunity and prepare for my internship.
The Niskanen Center was my preferred place of work as it is the institution in the U.S. most closely aligned with the policy priorities I’ve identified since becoming interested in governance five years ago. Founded in 2015, Niskanen’s primary areas of advocacy are in pricing carbon and expanding immigration. The department in which I am interning represents a unique view on certain areas of federal regulation; we attempt to identify regulatory schemes that both artificially redistribute income upwards and stifle competition. The four primary areas of regulatory governance which we critique represent those with potential to become trans-partisan, areas of deregulatory agreement without significant compromise. A simple example is occupational licensing. Government-issued licenses for occupations often require significant fees, examinations, and board reviews. This artificially lowers the supply of workers (restricting competition) while raising wages (redistributing income upward) and increasing prices for their services.
Research on licensing and other regulations has led me to hear Supreme Court oral arguments, Congressional subcommittee hearings, manipulate datasets and create new ones, and write policy commentaries. I am blessed to be far away from daily political theatre, instead helping lay the groundwork for future policy action. Our current political moment has incredibly dynamic policy potential and I look forward to contributing to its direction.
In this way, the Wake Washington program has significantly advanced my professional path during a pandemic this fall. It has allowed me to take two engaging courses from Wake, including one exploring international environmental politics, while also enabling a full-time research opportunity. I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Harriger, Ms. Richwine (jrich), and the University for making this program possible in extraordinary circumstances.
Hi, Mom!