This white paper starts from the recognition that the value of the regulatory system cannot be captured in a single number or metric, such as the concept of net benefits often touted by conservative economists. Instead, one must look at a more complex mosaic of evidence. When compiled and...

Pigou (1920) advocated for taxes, set equal to marginal damages, on goods produced and consumed that involve negative externalities. Samuelson (1954) laid out the conditions for optimal pure public goods provision, but noted that free-riding (the “demand revelation” problem) was likely to...

Climate regulation of the electricity sector is one of the most important growing — and rapidly changing — areas of law and policy today. This is both because of the critical role that electricity plays in modern society, acting as economic lifeblood, and because of electricity's part in...

Observers of environmental policy increasingly urge regulators to build consensus before making policy decisions. By seeking consensus, regulators are supposed to be able to reduce conflict, increase compliance, improve public policy, and promote public participation. Yet consensus-building...

This paper analyzes polluters' incentives to move from a traditional command and control (CAC) environmental regulatory regime to a tradable permits (TPP) regime. Existing work in environmental economics does not model how firms contest and bargain over actual regulatory implementation in CAC...

Presidents have long sought to roll back their predecessors’ regulatory policies. They have typically relied on efforts to repeal regulations and to withdraw unpublished or non-final regulations pursuant to “stop-work” orders directed at agency heads. President Trump is no exception. But...

As part of a recent trend toward more cooperative relations between regulators and industry, novel government programs are encouraging firms to monitor their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily report their own violations. In this study, we examine how regulatory enforcement activities...

As part of a recent trend toward more cooperative relations between regulators and industry, novel government programs are encouraging firms to monitor their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily report their own violations. In this study, we examine how enforcement activities, statutory...

The construction of new power plants in the United States carries the risk of significantly contributing to global climate change. After concluding that the current federal regulatory response to climate change risks from power plants is inadequate, this Article examines three potential roles...

This article considers how electricity utility regulators should treat infrastructure investments related to electric vehicles. It begins by analyzing investments using traditional utility regulatory policy norms. Next, the article analyzes whether utility regulators should broaden their...