Steven J. Balla

Steven Balla
Title:
Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration, and International Affairs; Co-Director, George Washington Regulatory Studies Center
Office:
Monroe Hall 475
Phone:
202-994-4811
Email:
[email protected]

Areas of Expertise

American politics, Chinese politics, regulation, technology and politics, government consultation and public participation in the policymaking process

Background

Steven J. Balla received his B.A. in government and economics from Franklin and Marshall College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Duke University. He studies government transparency and public participation in policymaking in China and the United States. He has testified in front of the United States Congress. He has on two occasions served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States, as well as a Fulbright Scholar at Peking University in Beijing and Nankai University in Tianjin. He is currently working on projects on congressional oversight of regulatory policymaking, polarization in public commenting on proposed rules, transparency and participation in state rulemaking, commenting on midnight regulations, policymaking innovation in China, transparency and participation in policymaking in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the responsiveness of Chinese government officials to public feedback on draft laws and regulations.

Education

PhD, Political Science, Duke University

MA, Political Science, Duke University

BA, Government and Economics, Franklin and Marshall College

CV (PDF)

Publications

“Responding to Mass, Computer-Generated, and Malattributed Comments.” With Reeve Bull, Bridget C.E. Dooling, Emily Hammond, Michael Herz, Michael Livermore, and Beth Simone Noveck. Administrative Law Review, 2022.

“Consultation as Policymaking Innovation: Comparing Government Transparency and Public Participation in China and the United States.” With Zhoudan Xie. Journal of Chinese Governance. 2020.

“Lost in the Flood?: Agency Responsiveness to Mass Comment Campaigns in Administrative Rulemaking.” With Alexander R. Beck, Elizabeth Meehan, and Aryamala Prasad. Regulation & Governance. 2020.

“Online Consultation and the Institutionalization of Transparency and Participation in Chinese Policymaking.” With Zhoudan Xie. China Quarterly. 2020.

"Where’s the Spam?: Interest Groups and Mass Comment Campaigns in Agency Rulemaking." With Alexander R. Beck, William C. Cubbison, and Aryamala Prasad. Policy & Internet. 2019.

Office Hours

Thursday 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and by appointment

Classes Taught

PSC 2101: Scope and Methods in Political Science

PSC 3193W: Politics of Regulation

PSC 8229: Politics and Public Policy

PSC 8217: Executive Branch Politics

PSC8286: Contemporary Research on American Political Institutions