Andrew Blackburn

Andrew Blackburn is a Program Manager at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.3 He specializes in regulatory studies and has experience in public policy and economics.

Education and Background

Andrew Blackburn holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Florida State University.3 He also attended Tallahassee Community College as part of his educational journey.

Professional Experience

At the Mercatus Center, Blackburn serves as the Program Manager for the Regulatory Studies Project.1 In this role, he focuses on analyzing and understanding the impact of regulations on businesses and the economy.

Areas of Expertise

Blackburn's work primarily revolves around regulatory policy and analysis. He has contributed to projects that examine the accessibility and costs associated with federal regulations, particularly those incorporated by reference.1 His research highlights issues such as:

1. The hidden costs of reading regulations
2. The practice of incorporation by reference in federal regulations
3. The prevalence of paywalled standards in regulatory documents

Notable Contributions

One of Blackburn's significant contributions is his work on the StateReg project and the development of RegExplorer.2 This tool provides an interactive way to analyze and compare regulatory data across different states, offering insights into:

• State-specific regulatory codes
• Comparison of regulations between neighboring states
• Visualization of restriction counts and word counts in state regulations

Through his work, Blackburn aims to make regulatory information more accessible and understandable to governments, policy advocates, and the public.