Agency Economists

Recommendation 2019-5 – Agency Economists addresses the placement of economists within rule-writing agencies (e.g., centralized versus dispersed throughout the agency) and describes methods for promoting high-quality economic analysis within each of the potential organizational structures. Each potential structure has strengths and weaknesses that can affect the flow of information between economists and decision makers. The recommendation does not endorse  any one organizational structure over another, but identifies steps agencies can take to remove structural barriers that can impede the communication of objective, consistent, and high-quality economic analysis to decision-makers during the rulemaking process.

Citation: Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2019-5, Agency Economists84 Fed. Reg. 71349 (Dec. 27, 2019).

Contacts

Implementation Contact
202.480.2104
jselin@acus.gov
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Committee: 

Final Recommendation

  • Recommendation number: 2019-5
  • Adopted on: December 12, 2019
  • Committees: Regulation

Federal regulatory agencies are subject to various requirements to conduct economic analysis when they prepare new regulations. Executive Order 12,866[1] requires that agencies (other than what it designates as “independent regulatory agencies”)[2] conduct a “regulatory impact analysis” (RIA) for their “significant regulatory actions,” which include regulations likely to have an annual economic impact exceeding $100 million.[3] The...