Citation

Froehlich RJ. Am. Rev. Public Admin. 1981; 15(3): 259-265.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/027507408101500309

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Most U.S. companies have been affected by government regulations since their beginnings. In recent years these regulations have grown at a staggering rate. Many of them have helped to improve the environment or have aided in making plants safer, and have benefited society. Others have triggered confusion, indecision and repeated governmental delays which have slowed innovation, postponed or prevented plant construction, and have caused the expenditure of millions of dollars. These have not improved the environment nor made plants safer, not benefited mankind in any other way.

Before we can talk about government regulation we must clearly define what a regulation is. A regulation is an agency’s written statement designed to implement or interpret law, policy, the intent of Congress, and/or protect the public interest, which has the force of law when it is within the authority granted by Congress to the Agency.

We must also define the much over-used term regulatory costs. Regulatory costs are all those expenditures covered by regulations or resulting from adherence to those regulations in the normal course of doing business. Regulatory costs can be grouped into three categories; necessary or appropriate regulatory costs, excessive regulatory costs and questionable regulatory costs.