How Well Are Our Environmental Laws Working? Retrospective Analysis of Federal Environmental Regulation

Presenting retrospective analyses on the Clean Air Act and other past environmental regulations

Date

Sept. 16, 2019

Time

9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. ET

Participants

Anna Alberini, Joseph E. Aldy, Maximilian Auffhammer, Lori Bennear, Sylwia Bialek, Dallas Burtraw, Maureen L. Cropper, Terry Dinan, Susan Dudley, Arthur G. Fraas, Ted Gayer, Jeffrey R. Holmstead, Sally Katzen, Nathaniel Keohane, Elizabeth Kopits, Joshua Linn, Dominic Mancini, Al McGartland, Richard D. Morgenstern, Richard G. Newell, Richard Schmalensee, Howard Shelanski, Jeffrey Shrader, Jonathan Wiener, and Ann Wolverton

Event Series

Workshop

Event Details

There has long been bipartisan interest in understanding how well US laws and regulations are working to achieve their intended purposes. A credible look back at past performance—referred to as retrospective, or ex-post, analysis—can help document the extent to which regulatory benefits have been realized, and at what cost. Such analyses can also illuminate any unintended consequences of regulation, e.g., adverse outcomes for certain populations or enhancement of market power. These retrospective studies are also critical in supporting future innovation in regulatory design.

Prospective, or ex-ante, analyses—more commonly known as regulatory impact analyses, or RIAs—are now routinely conducted for major new regulations. As Michael Greenstone noted a decade ago, however, RIAs are developed at the “point when the least is known.” Retrospective analyses are done after a regulation is in place, allowing the measurement of its actual effects. But many challenges impede the routine conduct of retrospective analysis of federal environmental rules. Thus, consistent measurements of actual outcomes, based on quasi-experimental or other modern methods, are extremely limited.

Given the challenges, how do we advance what we know about how well our laws (particularly our environmental laws) are working? Resources for the Future (RFF) has been leading a two-year effort to help answer this question. A distinguished set of researchers presented findings from that work on Monday, September 16—primarily focused on Clean Air Act rules—highlighting the economic and institutional issues associated with conducting retrospective analysis, while also suggesting areas for improvement.

When: Monday, September 16, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Where: Resources & Conservation Center, 1400 16th St., NW, Washington, DC, 20036

Agenda

Welcome & Introduction

9:00 a.m.–9:05 a.m. Welcome from Richard G. Newell
9:05 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Introductory remarks from Richard Morgenstern

Presentation & Panels

“What Have We Learned About Environmental Regulation from Studies of the Clean Air Act?”
Slides
Authors: Joseph Aldy, Maximilian Auffhammer, Maureen Cropper, Arthur Fraas, and Richard Morgenstern
Presenters: Joseph Aldy and Maureen Cropper
Discussants: Richard Schmalensee, Ted Gayer, Howard Shelanski, and Nathaniel Keohane

9:15 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Presentation
10:00 a.m.–10:45 a.m. Discussion
10:45 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Audience Q&A
11:00 a.m.–11:15 a.m. Coffee Break

“A Review of Retrospective Cost Analyses of EPA Regulations”
Slides
Authors and Presenters: Arthur Fraas, Elizabeth Kopits, and Ann Wolverton
Discussants: Al McGartland, Terry Dinan, and Dominic Mancini

11:15 a.m.–11:45 a.m. Presentation
11:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Discussion
12:15 p.m.–12:30 p.m. Audience Q&A
12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Lunch

“Institutional Dimensions of Retrospective Analysis of Regulation”
Slides
Authors and Presenters: Lori Bennear and Jonathan Wiener
Discussants: Sally Katzen, Susan Dudley, and Jeffrey Holmstead

1:30 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Presentation
2:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. Discussion
2:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m. Audience Q&A
2:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Coffee Break

“Accuracy of Policymaker Predictions of Compliance Costs”
Slides | Working Paper
Authors and Presenters: Sylwia Bialek and Jeffrey Shrader
Discussants: Anna Alberini, Joshua Linn, and Dallas Burtraw

3:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Presentation
3:30 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Discussion
4:00 p.m.–4:15 p.m. Audience Q&A

Closing Remarks

4:15 p.m.–4:30 p.m. A discussion of next steps with Richard Morgenstern and Arthur Fraas
4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. Reception

Topics

Clean Air Act

Participants

Anna Alberini

Professor, University of Maryland

Joseph E. Aldy

University Fellow

Joe Aldy is a university fellow at RFF and professor of the practice of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School. His research focuses on climate change policy, energy policy, and mortality risk evaluation.

Maximilian Auffhammer

George Pardee Jr. Professor of International Sustainable Development, UC Berkeley

Lori Bennear

Juli Plant Grainger Associate Professor of Energy Economics and Policy, Duke University

Sylwia Bialek

Economic Fellow, New York University School of Law

Dallas Burtraw

Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow

Dallas Burtraw is the Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow at RFF. Burtraw’s research includes analysis of the distributional and regional consequences of climate policy and the evolution of electricity markets, including renewables integration.

Maureen L. Cropper

Senior Fellow

Maureen Cropper is a a senior fellow at RFF, professor of economics at the University of Maryland, a member of the Board of Directors at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Terry Dinan

Senior Advisor, Congressional Budget Office

Susan Dudley

Director, GW Regulatory Studies Center & Distinguished Professor, George Washington University

Arthur G. Fraas

Visiting Fellow

Arthur Fraas is a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future. At RFF, Fraas works on a variety of issues related to energy and the environment, including projects looking at issues and tradeoffs with energy efficiency regulations, and more.

Ted Gayer

Executive Vice President, Brookings Institution

Jeffrey R. Holmstead

Member, RFF President's Council; Partner, Bracewell

Jeff Holmstead is a member of RFF President's Council and Partner at Bracewell. He served as the former assistant administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Air and Radiation.

Sally Katzen

Co-Chair, RFF President's Council; Professor of Law, New York University

Member, RFF Board of Directors; Professor of Law, New York University

Nathaniel Keohane

Senior Vice President, Climate, Environmental Defense Fund

Elizabeth Kopits

Senior Economist, US Environmental Protection Agency

Joshua Linn

Senior Fellow

Josh Linn is a senior fellow at RFF. His research centers on the effects of environmental policies and economic incentives for new technologies in the transportation, electricity, and industrial sectors.

Dominic Mancini

Deputy Administrator, Office of Management and Budget

Al McGartland

NCEE Director, US Environmental Protection Agency

Richard D. Morgenstern

Senior Fellow

Richard Morgenstern is a senior fellow at RFF. His research focuses on the economic analysis of environmental issues with an emphasis on the costs, benefits, evaluation, and design of environmental policies.