The Washington Post reports,

The practice of estimating the costs and benefits of U.S. government regulations is “frequently done poorly,” with scant evidence that it makes a difference on policymaking.

That’s the dismal finding of a recent report concluding that economic analysis had little substantial impact on decisions made by regulators.

Why am I not surprised? Nobody wants to listen to cost-benefit analysis. In the private sector, however, you ultimately don’t have a choice. You can’t stay in business with a loser.

The analysis is by Robert Hahn and Robert Litan.