YSE Professor Participates in White House Roundtable on Federal Benefit-Cost Analysis
A key initiative of the Biden-Harris Administration is to improve policymaking by increasing collaboration between the federal government and the research community. Since 2023, the administration has released an annual report identifying areas where research could benefit federal decision making. At a recent White House roundtable on the second annual report "Advancing the Frontiers of Benefit Cost Analysis: Federal Priorities and Directions for Future Research," Kenneth Gillingham, professor of environmental and energy economics, discussed ways to strengthen federal benefit-cost analysis.
"What I love about this document is that it not only points out several areas that need further research to improve benefit-cost analysis but equally importantly, it provides clear guidance to the research community and a set of suggestions for how the federal government can build connections," Gillingham said.
Hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and Council of Economic Advisers, the roundtable brought together academic and research experts to discuss progress and consider actions to continue advancing the frontiers of BCA.
"It provides useful guidance on how research enters into the regulatory agenda. It also provides guidance on where researchers can find out what the government needs to know," Gillingham said of the report.
All major regulations must undergo benefit-cost analysis; the U.S. executive branch is responsible for doing these analyses for programs and regulations. Gillingham and Eli Fenichel, Knobloch Family Professor of Natural Resource Economics, played vital roles in updating a White House Office of Management and Budget guide on how federal agencies calculate their regulations' benefits and costs to fully account for natural resources.
October 22, 2024
Kenneth Gillingham
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Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, was recognized for his work on climate and environmental psychology, which has helped shape how the public and policymakers understand the human dimensions of the climate crisis.
“I’m so honored to be named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Environmental and conservation psychology are more important to solving our shared global challenges than ever before, and I’m just glad I’ve had the opportunity to help advance the field,” Leiserowitz said.
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Satellites Can Track Amazon Forest Resilience — But Timing Matters
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An important caveat that the study found, however, is that the observation timing must align with natural recovery rhythms. For instance sampling too frequently can hide recovery dynamics, but sampling too infrequently risks missing them. The study suggests that some earlier satellite-based resilience assessments warrant re-examination.
The paper, "Physiological fidelity of a satellite-derived forest resilience indicator in the Amazon," was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
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