What OIRA Peer Reviewers Advised Regarding Notable Proposed Updates to Circular A-4: An Ignored Consensus?

Abstract After Circular A-4 “Regulatory Analysis” had served various Presidential administrations for 20 years, in 2023 revisions were proposed and made to update and modernize regulatory guidance. At the behest of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget, peer reviewers were nominated, and a peer review of proposed revisions was organized. Joseph Aldy, Cary Coglianese, Joseph Cordes, R. Scott Farrow, Kenneth Gillingham, William Pizer, Christina Romer, W. Kip Viscusi, and I were selected. The consequent peer reviews are the focus of this synopsis. After reading the comments from my fellow peer reviewers, I was impressed with the careful, thoughtful advice given. When asking nine peer reviewers with various backgrounds to comment on proposed revisions to guidance on regulation, we might expect to get at least 10 different views. Yet, I sense basic agreement on several key aspects of the topics of the notable proposed updates. The degree of consensus is reassuring. Less reassuring, and counter to the actual revisions adopted, is that the peer reviewers mostly agree that fundamental aspects of the updates on the discount rate, distributional analysis, and scope are ill-advised.