Policy: Retrospective evaluation of regulatory effectiveness

From RegBlog, "Federal Regulations: Let's Review the Rules" by Cary Coglianese (Penn). Opening:

The current spending battles in Washington reveal the deep fault lines between the political parties over the size and role of the federal government. ...

When it comes to regulation, though, there is something on which Democrats and Republicans agree. Since the early 1980s, both parties have broadly supported "regulatory impact analysis," a technique used by federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Transportation, to predict the benefits and costs of new, binding regulations before they adopt them. ...

However, as important as it is for federal agencies to look before they leap, it is equally important that they also conduct analysis that's retrospective. ...

At least part of today's partisan divide over regulation could be bridged by creating credible practices for retrospective evaluation. Just as agencies are currently expected to make their best predictions about the costs and benefits of major regulatory proposals, they could also be expected to inquire after the fact about each such regulation they adopt: How much positive value has society reaped from it? How much did it cost in dollars or jobs? Was there a more effective way of doing it?

EMM