Retrospective cost analyses of EPA regulations: a case study approach

EPA has conducted several assessments of regulatory compliance costs, with the ultimate goal of identifying ways to improve cost estimation. The work to date has culminated in four case studies that examine five regulations using a common conceptual framework. The standardized framework provides a systematic way to investigate key drivers of compliance costs to see if judgments can be made about why and how and estimates of costs differ. In addition to describing this conceptual framework, we describe the criteria used to select the rules to be analyzed, summarize the main hypotheses for why and cost estimates may differ and discuss some of the challenges encountered in conducting these analyses.