Since 1974, executive orders have required executive branch regulatory agencies to produce some form of economic analysis when promulgating significant regulations. However, both case study research and regulatory analysis “scorecards” find that the quality of regulatory analysis varies...

The current legislative and regulatory processes may not adequately inform Congress about the scope and economic consequences of legislation. Even if Congress had such information, no mechanism exists to allow Congress to easily act upon it. The budget process permits Congress to monitor and...

Federal agencies issued eight major interim final regulations in 2010 to quickly implement major provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Our previous reviews found that the regulatory impact analyses for these regulations were seriously incomplete, often omitting significant benefits, costs, or...

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University initiated its Regulatory Report Card project in 2009 to assess how well executive branch regulatory agencies conduct and use regulatory impact analysis and to identify ways to motivate improvement. Report Card evaluations reveal that agencies often...

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University initiated its Regulatory Report Card project in 2009 to assess how well executive branch regulatory agencies conduct and use regulatory impact analysis and to identify ways to motivate improvement. Report Card evaluations reveal that agencies often...

Regulatory agencies often produce mediocre economic analysis to accompany major regulations, and they often fail to explain how the analysis influenced their decisions. One reasonable hypothesis for this deficiency is that the enforcement mechanism review within the executive branch by OIRA is...

Independent regulatory agencies face increasing pressure to conduct high-quality economic analysis of regulations, similar to the regulatory impact analysis conducted by executive branch agencies. Such analysis could be required by evolving judicial doctrines, regulatory reform statutes, or...

Independent regulatory agencies face increasing pressure to conduct high-quality economicanalysis of regulations, similar to the regulatory impact analysis conducted by executive branchagencies. Such analysis could be required by evolving judicial doctrines, regulatory reformstatutes, or...

Scholarly research demonstrates that Regulatory Impact Analysis often falls short of the standards articulated in executive orders and Office of Management and Budget guidance. More often than not, agencies do not appear to use the Regulatory Impact Analysis to inform major decisions. Regulatory...