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Does regulation kill jobs?: The limits of quantification

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  • David M. Driesen

Abstract

This essay reviews a new edited volume entitled Does Regulation Kill Jobs? It concludes that this book brings much needed data and realism to the debate about jobs and the environment, showing that government regulation generally has minor impacts on employment. This essay focuses much of its attention on the suggestion, discussed by several of the contributors to this book, that cost–benefit analysis should include a dollar value representing an estimate of the value of employment changes a proposed regulation might cause. It discusses concerns about double counting, ex ante estimates of employment impacts, monetization of the value of employment impacts, and potentially misleading asymmetric analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • David M. Driesen, 2015. "Does regulation kill jobs?: The limits of quantification," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 193-201, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:9:y:2015:i:2:p:193-201
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12088
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Posner, Richard A., 2010. "The Crisis of Capitalist Democracy," Economics Books, Harvard University Press, number 9780674062191, march.
    2. Morgenstern, Richard D. & Pizer, William A. & Shih, Jhih-Shyang, 2002. "Jobs Versus the Environment: An Industry-Level Perspective," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 412-436, May.
    3. Timothy J. Bartik, 2013. "Social Costs of Jobs Lost Due to Environmental Regulations," Upjohn Working Papers 13-193, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
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