I couldn’t agree more with your paragraph below. Perceived opportunity costs are constantly keeping people out of service positions across the board, IMHO. It would be interesting to see what kind of packages could be put together to entice professionals, experienced or otherwise, to serve in public regulatory roles. Are you familiar with what the carrots at the ends of the sticks look like in the UK or France?

“The SEC, for example, doesn’t generally hire entry-level
professionals. US regulators could take advantage of
the Obama administration’s emphasis on public service
rather than perpetuating the idea that government
service comes with a huge opportunity cost. We have
accepted lobbying, conflicts and a ‘revolving door’ back
into private firms as inevitable after a few years of public
‘martyrdom’. We need top graduates of elite schools, as
well as good graduates of good schools, and mid-career
markets experts in particular, to dedicate themselves to
public service such as one sees in the UK and France. It’s
both idealistically and practically desirable.”

Great article BTW!