EXECUTIVE-ORDER-12866 - ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE ADMINISTRATIONS NEW REGULATORY PLAN ON RISK, BENEFIT, AND COSTS

The 1993 Executive Order 12866 as implemented by the 1996 OMB document proposes a new paradigm for the evaluation of risks, benefits, and co sts. The new regulatory plan would replace the current methodology in two ways. In place of the current methodology for risk. assessment bas ed on conservative generic default assumptions that provide an upper-b ound risk value that is treated as the ''benefit,'' the new regulatory plan establishes a state of the art guidance for the economic evaluat ion of risks, benefits, and costs. Second, the new plan requires chang es in risk assessment to provide the necessary foundation for the new economic evaluation of risks, benefits, and costs. The advantages and disadvantages of the new regulatory plan are discussed. (C) 1996 Acade mic Press, Inc.