Reforming regulatory impact analysis

de Winston Harrington, Lisa Heinzerling, Richard D. Morgenstern

The requirement that federal agencies prepare economic studies--regulatory impact analyses (RIA)--for major new environmental and other social regulations has been controversial since its implementation almost thirty years ago. In a new RFF report, experts with differing perspectives take a hard look at several recent RIAs issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and explore what reforms would benefit the current system. The publication grew out of a series of workshops drawing upon views from government officials, legal scholars, and academic experts.