Clean Water Act Brief
27 Pages
Posted: 27 Jul 2008
Stanford University - Department of Economics
New York University - Stern School of Business, Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies; Leonard N. Stern School of Business - Department of Economics
Columbia University - Council on Foreign Relations
Stanford University - The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Brookings Institution; AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies
University of Maryland - Department of Economics; Resources for the Future
University of Chicago - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
University of Oxford, Smith School; Georgetown University
NERA Economic Consulting
Columbia Business School - Finance and Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
National Economic Research Associates Inc. (NERA) (Deceased)
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies
Yale School of Management (Deceased); Yale University, Yale Graduates Energy Study Group (Deceased)
George Mason University - Center for Study of Public Choice
NERA Economic Consulting
Cato Institute
Stanford University - Department of Economics
University of Maryland - Department of Economics; Resources for the Future
Milken Institute
University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
University of Arizona - Eller College of Management
Princeton University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Maryland
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management
Brookings Institution
Arizona State University (ASU) - Economics Department; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Chapman University - Economic Science Institute; Chapman University School of Law
Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); Resources for the Future; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Vanderbilt University - Law School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Vanderbilt University - Department of Economics; Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School of Management; Vanderbilt University - Strategy and Business Economics
New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics
Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Date Written: July, 21 2008
Abstract
As economists, we believe that the Second Circuit's ruling, by not allowing the consideration of important information about the relationships between the benefits and costs of alternatives, is economically unsound. In particular, we believe that, as a general principle, regulators cannot make rational decisions unless they are allowed to compare costs and benefits and to use the results, along with other factors as appropriate, to choose among alternatives.
To the extent permissible under the statute and case law, EPA should be allowed to consider benefits and costs in establishing rules for implementing s316(b). The Court's allowing EPA to consider benefits and costs would improve both the decision making process - by making it more transparent - and the regulatory decisions by allowing important relevant information to be considered explicitly.
Suggested Citation:
Suggested Citation
Arrow, Kenneth J. and Baumol, William J. and Bhagwati, Jagdish and Boskin, Michael J. and Crandall, Robert W. and Cropper, Maureen and Greenstone, Michael and Hahn, Robert W. and Harrison, David and Hubbard, R. Glenn and Kahn, Alfred E. and Litan, Robert E. and MacAvoy, Paul W. and Miller, James C. and Nichols, Albert L. and Niskanen, William A. and Noll, Roger G. and Oates, Wallace E. and Passell, Peter and Peltzman, Sam and Portney, Paul and Rosen, Harvey S. and Russell, Milton and Schelling, Thomas C. and Schmalensee, Richard and Schultze, Charles L. and Smith, V. Kerry and Smith, Vernon L. and Stavins, Robert N. and Viscusi, W. Kip and White, Lawrence J. and Zeckhauser, Richard J., Clean Water Act Brief (July, 21 2008). Reg-Markets Center Brief No. 08-03. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1165904
