Economic Analyses at EPA: Assessing Regulatory Impact (Paperback)

Economic Analyses at EPA: Assessing Regulatory Impact Book Description

For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting "economic analyses", also known as Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs), to asses the economic effects of its regulatory efforts. This important new volume explains the purposes, methods, and conclusions of these analyses, and it reveals the role they played in EPA decisionmaking over the past two decades. A dozen original case studies, developed by experts who actually worked of the RIAs, provide detailed examination of how the analyses were performed and used. These case studies dissect the analytic approaches employed in performing benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analyses as well as critiquing the data. The contributors examine how the results were used (and abused) in actual decisionmaking. Richard D. Morgenstern provides historical and legal contexts for the analyses and describes new procedures developed by the Clinton administration. He synthesizes the case studies into thoughtful cross-cutting conclusions, drawing important lessons designed to improve future analyses.
"Lucid, informative, readable. It goes behind the numbers to give readers insight into what works and what doesn't -- and why -- in using economic analysis to improve environmental decision making." -- William K. Reilly, former administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting programmatic "economic analyses," also known as Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs), to assess the economic effects of its regulatory efforts. This important new volume explains the purpose of these analyses, along with their design, execution, conclusions, and their ultimate impact on environmental rules. Morgenstern, formerly director of EPA's Office of Policy Analysis, has assembled twelve original case studies of RIAs performed over the past decade. The contributors, most of whom actually worked on these RIAs, provide detailed examination of why and how they were performed. They critique the nature, amount, and quality of data used by the EPA in their benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analyses as well as the subsequent utilization of that data in decisionmaking. The authors illustrate how the analyses take into account difficult issues such as discounting, risk, nonmonetized benefits and costs, and equity.

Morgenstern provides historical context and the legal framework for requiring and conducting EAs, including the basic procedure outlined by the Clinton administration in 1996. He synthesizes the studies into thoughtful general conclusions, drawing important lessons that will improve future analyses.

About the Author :

Richard D Morgenstern has contributed to Economic Analyses at EPA: Assessing Regulatory Impact as an author. Richard D. Morgenstern is a senior fellow at Resources for the Future.

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