The USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Center 
for Environmental Economics, has just released a set of Guidelines 
for Preparing Economic Analyses and these are available for 
download at:
 

http://www.epa.gov/economics
 

A fact sheet for the guidelines is pasted below.
 

At present the guidelines must be downloaded in sections (see 
below) but a full version with the remaining Appendix B will be 
linked soon.
 

We will add this link to the growing set of environmental economics 
resources available via the BPSP website.
 

This is another big set of pdfs - I can forward them as attachments 
to needy bioplanners if this is easier than downloading for the Web.

Best wishes

David Duthie
 

******************************************************************** 

The Guidelines are available for download in seven sections or as 
one single file. All files are in PDF format. 

An added feature developed for these PDF files is the ability to use 
interactive links to move throughout the Guidelines using the Table 
of Contents. For the links in the Table of Contents to remain 
effective after downloading the files to your computer, the names of 
the PDF files cannot be changed. 

Contents of PDF files for GuidelinesSize, name of PDF file

Cover   498k, cover.pdf

Cover page, Preface, Table of Contents, Acronyms and 
Abbreviations, and Acknowledgments  217k, Pref-ack.pdf

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Statutory and Executive Order Requirements for 
Conducting Economic Analyses

Chapter 3: Statement of Need for the Proposal

Chapter 4: Regulatory and Non-Regulatory Approaches to Consider

Chapter 5: Overview of Economic Analysis of Environmental Policy 
475k, Ch1-5.pdf
 
 

Chapter 6: Analysis of Social Discounting

Chapter 7: Analyzing Benefits 467k, Ch6-7.pdf

Chapter 8: Analyzing Social Costs  178k, Ch8.pdf

Chapter 9: Distributional Analyses: Economic Impact Analyses 
and Equity Assessments 

Chapter 10: Using Economic Analyses in Decision Making
447k, Ch9-10.pdf

Appendix A: SAB Review of EA Guidelines

Appendix B: EPA's Response to SAB Review* 

129k, AppendixA.pdf
 

Two page fact sheet on the Guidelines (see below) 17k,Fact 
sheet.pdf

 * Appendix B and the file containing the entire document will be 
available in the near future.

***********************************************************

Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses

EPA’s Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses establish a 
sound scientific framework for performing economic analyses of 
environmental regulations and policies. They incorporate recent 
advances in theoretical and applied work in the field of 
environmental economics. 
 

The Guidelines provide guidance on analyzing the economic 
impacts of regulations and policies, and assessing the distribution 
of costs and benefits among various segments of the population, 
with a particular focus on disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. 
 

The Guidelines contain several important advances: 

(1) they assist policy makers in developing regulations that achieve 
the highest environmental quality and human health standards at 
the lowest costs; 

(2) provide analysts with information needed to prepare high quality 
economic analyses; 

(3) develop an overarching framework for economic analyses 
throughout the Agency and across EPA Program Offices; and 

(4) ensure that important subjects such as uncertainty, sensitivity 
analysis, timing, and valuation of costs and benefits, described 
below, are treated consistently in all economic analyses at EPA. 
 

EPA will use the Guidelines to evaluate the economic 
consequences of its regulations and policies to insure that they 
contribute to a safe environment and a healthy economy. 
 

The Guidelines address seven major analytical issues: 
 

• Estimating the value of benefits not easily quantified (e.g., valuing 
how changes in intelligence from lead exposures result in lower 
lifetime incomes, or how the protection of wetlands can reduce the 
risks of flooding and enhance property values). 

• Estimating the value of reducing fatal risks (e.g. measuring the 
economic benefits from reducing the number of pollution-induced 
cancer fatalities). 

• Defining baseline conditions (i.e., contrasting the state of the 
economy and environment with and without a proposed regulatory 
policy). 

• Examining environmental justice concerns in economic analyses 
(e.g., displaying economic data on the risks, benefits and costs to 
households located adjacent to hazardous waste sites). 

• Comparing differences in the timing of benefits and costs (e.g., 
investing in CFC control strategies today reduces future 
generations’ UV radiation risks). Acknowledging uncertainties in 
the calculation of costs and benefits (e.g., presenting range of 
costs an industry might face when choosing among strategies to 
reduce environmental discharges). 

• Measuring who pays the costs and receives the benefits of 
regulations (e.g., showing how different groups; such as children, 
small businesses, or persons more susceptible to environmental 
hazards; receive differing levels of protection or costs). 
 

The main audiences for the Guidelines are those performing or 
using economic analysis, including policy makers, the Agency's 
Program and Regional Offices, and contractors providing economic 
reports to the EPA. In addition, college and university professors 
have also expressed an interest in using the Guidelines for their 
environmental economics and policy analysis classes. 
 

EPA's Regulatory Policy Council, consisting of top-level program 
managers, and the Agency's program economists oversaw the 
development of the Guidelines by the EPA's National Center for 
Environmental Economics (NCEE). EPA's Science Advisory Board, 
composed of leading environmental economists from major 
universities and research institutions, reviewed the Guidelines 
throughout their development for accuracy in both economic theory 
and practice. In their final report to Administrator Carol Browner, 
the Board gave the Guidelines an overall rating of "excellent," 
saying, they "succeed in reflecting methods and practices that 
enjoy widespread acceptance in the environmental economics 
profession." EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics 
was created to be a federal source of cutting-edge work in 
environmental economics and assist EPA Program Offices, 
Agency economists, and regulatory policy makers with high quality 
economic analyses. It carries out original theoretical and empirical 
research and is staffed by economists, other scientists, and policy 
analysts. 
 

The guidelines were developed by the EPA's National Center for 
Environmental Economics, and are available at: 
 

http://www.epa.gov/economics 
 

For further information, contact:

Chris Dockins (Guidelines Project Leader): 202-260-5728 

Brett Snyder (BAMDD, Division Director): 202-260-5610 

Al McGartland (NCEE, Director): 202-260-5500 

Office fax numbers: 202-260-2685 & 260-5732 

E-mail addresses: snyder.brett@epa.gov and 

dockins.chris@epa.gov

Dr David Duthie (Programme Co-ordinator)
UNEP/GEF Biodiversity Planning Support Programme
T-133
PO Box 30552
Gigiri
Nairobi
KENYA

Tel: +254-2-623717
Fax: +254-2-624268/623162
E-mail: david.duthie@unep.org
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