Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T12:40:09.949Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Retrospective cost analyses of EPA regulations: a case study approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2015

Elizabeth Kopits ,
Al McGartland ,
Cynthia Morgan ,
Carl Pasurka ,
Ron Shadbegian ,
Nathalie B. Simon ,
David Simpson  and
Ann Wolverton
Elizabeth Kopits
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
Al McGartland
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
Cynthia Morgan
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
Carl Pasurka
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
Ron Shadbegian
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
David Simpson
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
Ann Wolverton
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, USA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

EPA has conducted several ex post assessments of regulatory compliance costs, with the ultimate goal of identifying ways to improve ex ante cost estimation. The work to date has culminated in four case studies that examine five regulations using a common conceptual framework. The standardized framework provides a systematic way to investigate key drivers of compliance costs to see if judgments can be made about why and how ex ante and ex post estimates of costs differ. In addition to describing this conceptual framework, we describe the criteria used to select the rules to be analyzed, summarize the main hypotheses for why ex ante and ex post cost estimates may differ and discuss some of the challenges encountered in conducting these ex post analyses.

Keywords

cost analysisenvironmental regulationex post comparisonsretrospective analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis , Volume 5 , Issue 2: Special Issue: Retrospective Analysis of the Costs of EPA Regulations , June 2014 , pp. 173 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis 2014

References

Adler, Jonathan. (1996). Behind the green curtain. Regulation, 4, 26–34.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. F., & Sherwood, T. (2002). Comparison of EPA and other estimates of mobile source rule costs to actual price changes. Paper presented at the SAE Government Industry Meeting, Washington, DC, May 14, 2002.Google Scholar
Bailey, Peter D., Gary, Haq, & Andy, Goudson. (2002). Mind the gap! Comparing ex ante and ex post assessments of the costs of complying with environmental regulation. European Environment, 12(5), 245–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boardman, Anthony E., Mallery, Wendy L., & Vining, Aidan R. (1994). Learning from ex ante/ex post cost-benefit comparisons: The Coquihalla Highway example. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 28(2), 69–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burtraw, D., & Palmer, K. (2004). SO2 cap-and-trade program in the United States: A ‘living legend’ of market effectiveness. In Harrington, Winston, Morgenstern, Richard D. & Sterner, Thomas (Eds.), Choosing environmental policy: Comparing instruments and outcomes in the United States and Europe. Washington D.C.: Resources for the Future.Google Scholar
Busse, Meghan R., & Keohane, Nathaniel O. (2007). Market effects of environmental regulation: Coal, railroads, and the 1990 Clean Air Act. RAND Journal of Economics, 38(4), 1159–1179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlson, C., Burtraw, D., Cropper, M., & Palmer, K. (2000). SO2 control by electric utilities: What are the gains from trade? Journal of Political Economy, 108(6), 1292–1326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, G., Stavins, R., Stowe, R., & Sweeney, R. (2012). The SO2 allowance trading system and the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990: Reflections on twenty years of policy innovation. White paper. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.Google Scholar
Dale, Larry, Camille, Antinori, McNeil, Michael, McMahon, James E., & Fujita, Sydny K. (2009). Retrospective evaluation of appliance price trends. Energy Policy, 37(2), 597–605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dayton, Julia. (1998). World Bank HIV/AIDS interventions: Ex ante and ex post evaluations. World Bank Publication 389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
E.O. 13610. (2012) “Identifying and reducing regulatory burdens.” FR 77(93), May 14, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/microsites/omb/eo_13610_identifying_and_reducing_regulatory_burdens.pdf).Google Scholar
Grosse, Scott D., Waitzman, Norman J., Romano, Patrick S., & Joseph, Mulinare. (2005). Reevaluating the benefits of folic acid fortification in the United States: Economic analysis, regulation, and public health. American Journal of Public Health, 95(11), 1917–1922.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hahn, Robert. (1996). Regulatory reform: What do the government’s numbers tell us?” In Hahn, Robert (Ed.), Risks, Costs, and Lives Saved: Getting Better Results from Regulation (pp. 208–255). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammitt, J. (2000). Are the costs of proposed environmental regulations overestimated? Evidence from the CFC phaseout. Environmental and Resource Economics, 16(3), 281–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrington, W., Morgenstern, R. D., & Nelson, P. (2000). On the accuracy of regulatory cost estimates. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 19(2), 297–322.3.0.CO;2-X>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinzerling, Lisa, & Richard, Ackerman. (2002). Pricing the priceless: Cost benefit analysis of environmental protection. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 150, 1553–1584.Google Scholar
Hodges, Hart. (1997). Falling prices: Cost of complying with environmental regulations almost always less than advertised. Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.Google Scholar
James, H. S. Jr. (1998). Estimating OSHA compliance costs. Policy Sciences-Special Issue on Regulatory Budgeting, 31, 321–324.Google Scholar
Jantzen, J. (1989). Costs of environmental management, 1988 – 2010, 3 policy scenarios. Report for the Ministry of VROM, The Hague, 25 May 1989.Google Scholar
Joskow, Paul. (1988). Asset specificity and the structure of vertical relationships: Empirical evidence. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 4(1), 95–117.Google Scholar
Kerwin, C. M., & Furlong, S. (1992). Time and rulemaking: An empirical test of theory. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2(2), 113–138.Google Scholar
LaFrance, Jeffrey T., & Harry, de Gorte. (1985). Regulation in a dynamic market: The U.S. dairy industry. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 67(4), 821–832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindner, R. K., & Jarrett, F. G. (1978). Supply shifts and the size of research benefits. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 60(1), 48–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacLeod, Michael, Moran, , Dominic, , Aresti, , Manuel Lago, , Harrington, , Winston, , & Richard, Morgenstern. (2006). Comparing the ex ante and ex post costs of complying with regulatory change. Final Report to DEFRA. London: Department for Environment, Farms, and Rural Affairs.Google Scholar
Maloney, Michael T., & McCormick, Robert E. (1982). A positive theory of environmental quality regulation. Journal of Law and Economics, 25(1), 99–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morgenstern, Richard D., & Landy, Mark K. (1997). Economic analysis: Benefits, costs, implications. In Morgenstern, Richard D. (Ed.), Economic Analyses at EPA: Assessing Regulatory Impact, Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future.Google Scholar
NRC (National Research Council). (2012). Review of the EPA’s economic analysis of final water quality standards for lakes and flowing waters in Florida. Washingtons, DC: The National Academies Press.Google Scholar
Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). (1995). Gauging control technology and regulatory impacts in occupational safety and health: An appraisal of OSHA’s analytic approach. OTA-ENV-635. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Oosterhuis, F., des Abbayes, C., Görlach, B., Huybrechts, D., Jarvis, A., Kuik, O., Medhursi, J., Meynaerts, E., Monier, V., Ekins, P., Jantzen, J., Vanner, R., Vercaemst, P., & van der Woerd, H. (2006). Ex post estimates of costs to business of EU environmental legislation: Final report. Amsterdam: Institute for Environmental Studies. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enveco/ex_post/pdf/costs.pdf.Google Scholar
Porter, Michael. (1991). America’s green strategy. Scientific American, 264(4), 96.Google Scholar
Popp, D. (2003). Pollution control innovations and the Clean Air Act of 1990. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 22(4), 641–660.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Popp, David, Newell, Richard G., & Jaffe, Adam B.. (2010). Energy, the Environment, and Technological Change, In Halland, Bronwyn H. and Rosenberg, Nathan: Handbook of the Economics of Innovation- Vol-II, Burlington: Academic Press, pp. 873–938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, Hayes, & Bartlett, Inc. (1980). Comparisons of estimated and actual pollution capital expenditures for selected industries. Report Prepared for the Office of Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cambridge, MA. (mimeo).Google Scholar
Rideout, Douglas B., & Omi, Philip N. (1995). Estimating the cost of fuels treatment. Forest Science, 41(4), 664–674.Google Scholar
RIVM. (2000). Techno 2000; “Modellering van de daling van eenheidskosten van technologieën in de tijd”. Rapportnummer 773008003, Bilthoven, April 2000.Google Scholar
Sappington, David E. M., & Stiglitz, Joseph E. (1987). Privatization, information and incentives. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 6(4), 567–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Kimberley M., Sequi-Gomez, Maria, & Graham, John D. (2002). Validating benefit and cost estimates: The case of airbag regulation. Risk Analysis, 22(4), 803–811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2010). Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses. EPA 240-R-10-001. December 2010. Retrieved from http://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epa/eed.nsf/pages/guidelines.html.Google Scholar
U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). (1998). Report to Congress on costs and benefits of federal regulations: Appendix. Washington, DC: GPO.Google Scholar
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OMB). (2005). Validating Regulatory Analysis: 2005 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities.Google Scholar
U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). (2014). Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities.Google Scholar