Revolving Door in Insurance Regulators
Ana-Maria Tenekedjieva, Finance PhD
Insurance regulators often have existing ties with the insurance industry or are hired by it after their term is over. This phenomenon is known as a revolving door, and studies of other industries show that it can affect regulation decisions. I propose to study the effect of the revolving door in the insurance industry on firm outcomes and consumer welfare. In particular, I am interested in the regulators' decisions on approving rate increases in insurance premiums in life and long term care industry. I request financial help to (1) purchase a data set on rate increases ($3000) and (2) hire research assistants to augment the data set on employment history of insurance regulators ($4800).