BENEFITS OF ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, AND SAFETY REGULATION

A study concerning the benefits of regulation is presented, based on information compiled on the achievements of health, safety, and environmental regulations. It is concluded that "substantial" benefits have been realized from Federal regulation in the areas of health, safety, and the environment, including direct economic gains, improvements in public health and in the standard of living, and enhanced environmental quality. The reported benefits of regulations in seven major regulatory areas (air pollution control; automotive safety; consumer product safety; food, drugs, and cosmetics; food safety and quality; occupational safety and health; and water pollution control) are summarized, an assessment is made of the state-of-the-art of benefits estimation, and recommendations are provided. It is also concluded that a strict cost/benefit approach in Federal regulation is inadvisable, due to inadequate empirical data on many health and ecological effects, and the presence of philosophical and ethical issues which do not lend themselves to economic quantification.