scholarly journals Retrospective cost analyses of EPA regulations: a case study approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kopits ◽  
Al McGartland ◽  
Cynthia Morgan ◽  
Carl Pasurka ◽  
Ron Shadbegian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Cost Estimation ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Compliance Costs ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Key Drivers

Abstract:EPA has conducted several ex post assessments of regulatory compliance costs, with the ultimate goal of identifying ways to improve ex ante cost estimation. The work to date has culminated in four case studies that examine five regulations using a common conceptual framework. The standardized framework provides a systematic way to investigate key drivers of compliance costs to see if judgments can be made about why and how ex ante and ex post estimates of costs differ. In addition to describing this conceptual framework, we describe the criteria used to select the rules to be analyzed, summarize the main hypotheses for why ex ante and ex post cost estimates may differ and discuss some of the challenges encountered in conducting these ex post analyses.

Voluntourism, sensemaking and the leisure-volunteer duality

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Liston-Heyes ◽  
Carol Daley
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Key Events

A key feature of voluntourism is that participants expect both to be entertained and to help others to different extents. The duality between the leisure and volunteering aspects of the trip creates ambiguities in expectations. This article focusses on group sensemaking about this leisure-volunteer duality and the role of trip leaders in its management. It uses a case study approach to investigate the behaviours of participants on a voluntourist trip to South America. Among other things, it compares participants’ ex ante expectations with ex post evaluations of the trip and tracks the events that shaped views on the quality of the experience. More concretely, the key events that triggered conflicts between the leisure and volunteer dimensions of the trip are identified and analysed using the factors that influenced the sensemaking outcome. Implications centre on the importance and use of sensemaking tools for voluntourist organisations and trip leaders in the management of the leisure-volunteer tensions that are part and parcel of voluntourism.

scholarly journals Do regulators overestimate the costs of regulation?

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. David Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Summary Statistics ◽  
Compliance Cost ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Cost Estimates ◽  
Compliance Costs ◽  
Average Ratio ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
The Mean

Abstract:It has occasionally been asserted that regulators typically overestimate the costs of the regulations they impose. A number of arguments have been proposed for why this might be the case. The most widely credited is that regulators fail sufficiently to appreciate the effects of innovation in reducing regulatory compliance costs. Most existing studies have found that regulators are more likely to over- than to underestimate costs. While it is difficult to develop summary statistics to aggregate the results of different studies of disparate industries, one such measure is the average of the ratio of ex ante estimates of compliance costs to ex post estimates of the same costs. This ratio is generally greater than one. In this paper I argue that neither the greater frequency of overestimates nor the fact that the average ratio of ex ante to ex post cost estimates is greater than one necessarily demonstrates that ex ante estimates are biased. There are several reasons to suppose that the distribution of compliance costs could be skewed, so that the median of the distribution would lie below the mean. It is not surprising, then, that most estimates would prove to be too high. Moreover, Jensen’s inequality implies that the expected ratio of ex ante to ex post compliance costs would be greater than one. I propose a regression-based test of the bias of ex ante compliance cost estimates, and cannot reject the hypothesis that estimates are unbiased. Failure to reject a hypothesis with limited and noisy data should not, of course, be interpreted as a strong argument to accept the hypothesis. Rather, this paper argues for the generation of more and better information. Despite the existence of a number of papers reporting ex ante and ex post compliance cost estimates, it is surprisingly difficult to get a large sample with which to make such comparisons.

scholarly journals Ex Ante and Ex Post Evaluations: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lut Mergaert ◽  
Rachel Minto
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Two Sides

This article engages with two themes of contemporary EU governance: the role of evaluations within an effective and coherent policy–making process and the EU's constitutionalised commitment to promoting gender equality in all its activities (Article 8 TFEU). It focuses on the interface between ex ante and ex post evaluation and the contribution of evaluations to policy learning, with particular attention to the promotion of gender equality. A case study approach is followed, with EU research policy as the object of analysis.

scholarly journals Retrospective Analysis of U.S. Federal Environmental Regulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-304
Author(s):  
Richard Morgenstern
Keyword(s):  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Slight Tendency ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Post Analysis

Retrospective, or ex post, analysis of U.S. federal regulation aims to rigorously document regulatory outcomes using cost, benefit, and distributional metrics. This paper presents nine new case studies involving a total of 34 comparisons of ex ante and ex post estimates from a diverse group of environmentally oriented rules. Despite the potential for selection bias and other limitations of the case study approach, the results suggest a slight tendency to overestimate both costs and benefits (or effectiveness) of regulation. This paper considers various analytic issues relevant to developing credible baselines for comparison, and offers policy lessons regarding the design of emissions trading programs along with approaches for incorporating uncertainty into both preregulatory studies and policy designs. Recommendations to facilitate and support future retrospective analyses are also presented.

Sharing-Collaboration-Openness

2019 ◽  
pp. 223-251
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Urban Theory ◽  
Critical Dimensions ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Exploratory Case Study

The purpose of this chapter is to explore sharing, collaboration, and openness in relation to smart cities in response to the state of the privacy construct that is said to be in disarray. A rethinking and innovating of the privacy construct is advanced in this chapter in evolving the ambient privacy framework in support of sharing, collaboration, and openness as critical dimensions of smart cities. The research literature for sharing, collaboration, and openness is explored in this chapter in the context of smart and responsive cities, enabling the identification of issues, controversies, and problems. Using an exploratory case study approach, solutions and recommendations are advanced. This chapter makes a contribution to 1) the research literature for urban sharing, collaboration, and openness in smart and responsive cities; 2) the innovating of privacy for 21st century cities; and 3) urban theory in formulating a conceptual framework for innovating privacy for smarter urbanities.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial skill and regulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Deakins ◽  
Jo Bensemann ◽  
Martina Battisti
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Economic Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Regulatory Effects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to undertake a qualitative case-based analysis of the factors affecting the capability of primary sector rural entrepreneurs to manage regulation. The authors suggest a conceptual framework to aid understanding of their skill and capability when managing regulation. Design/methodology/approach – Using a multiple case study approach the entrepreneurial skill of rural entrepreneurs is examined in light of three sets of factors: institutional regulatory, social capital and economic market. Findings – The case analysis indicates diversity in the skill of rural entrepreneurs to manage regulation across sub-sectors including dairy and stock farming, fruit growers and vegetable/horticultural producers. The conceptual framework indicates that there are three areas that influence entrepreneurial skill: relationships with national cooperatives, relationships with the institutional regulatory environment and relationships with the economic market environment. This provides the authors with a conceptual framework to aid understanding of the interplay of factors affecting entrepreneurial skill and capability to manage regulation. Originality/value – This study contributes to the emerging stream of literature highlighting the importance of industry sector context for understanding the complex and differing regulatory effects on entrepreneurs’ skill and hence capability to manage. Case comparisons allow the authors to explain and understand why entrepreneurs that operate similar businesses within the same sector respond differently to regulation.

scholarly journals Supportive Drivers of Organizational Knowledge Management: A Case Study from Egypt

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randa El Bedawy
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Organizational Management ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Human Orientation ◽  
Key Drivers

The ability to manage efficiently the flow of knowledge has becoming a crucial requirement to boost the organizational learning and competitiveness along the knowledge era. However, a lack of consensus and confusion may still exist regarding what comprise the Knowledge Management (KM) and its importance to improve the overall organizational performance in Egypt. Moreover, there is generally a lack of an observable organizational KM initiatives’ progress in Egypt. This study highlights the significance of KM and explores the key drivers that can support organizational KM initiative in Egypt which requires organizational management and human orientation in terms of setting supportive human resource management, organizational culture and organizational structure. The study also alarms the attention to the various challenges that may hinder the successful implementation of KM initiative in Egypt. Based on the case study approach, this study sheds the light on a good model of IBM Egypt as a guidance supporting the crucial significance of KM for booming innovation and organizational performance.

Evolving Urban Understandings

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-132
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Urban Theory ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Exploratory Case Study ◽  
The City

The purpose of this chapter is to explore visible and invisible flows of information as an emerging and evolving landscape in technology-infused experiences of the city. As such, this work aims to shed additional light on the concept of the ambient in terms of participation in relation to culture, economies, and everything. The research literature for culture, economies, and other urban elements as ambient is explored in this chapter in the context of smart cities, enabling identification of issues, controversies, and problems. Using an exploratory case study approach, solutions and recommendations are advanced. This chapter makes a contribution to 1) the research literature for ambient culture and economies and the ambient turn for smart and responsive cities, 2) the evolving of urban theory, and 3) research and practice through formulation and operationalization of a conceptual framework for ambient cultures and economies in smart cities.

Translucence and the Ambient

2021 ◽  
pp. 91-116
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Exploratory Case Study ◽  
Correlational Design

The purpose of this chapter is to explore translucence and the ambient as dimensions of urban visibilities and invisibilities in the context of emergent perspectives on smart cities to enrich understandings. The research literature for translucence and the ambient is explored in terms of urban visibilities and invisibilities in smart cities and regions, enabling the formulation and operationalization of a conceptual framework to guide the investigation in this chapter. Using an exploratory case study approach, combined with an explanatory correlational design, survey and interview responses provide a mix of quantitative and qualitative data for analysis. This chapter makes a contribution to 1) the research literature for translucence and the ambient in smart cities and regions, 2) the surfacing of additional urban elements for understanding 21st century cities, and 3) the evolving of theory through formulation of a conceptual framework for translucence and the ambient in smart cities.

scholarly journals Is the Recovery of Failing Scenario Analysis a Legitimate and Valuable Activity?

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-97
Author(s):  
Michel Leseure
Keyword(s):  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Operational Control ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Ex Ante

There is a rich academic literature about scenario planning expressing concerns with improving the effectiveness of scenario analysis as a process and with scenario methods being misused. Controlling for process execution and reacting to unforeseen events to avoid downside risks is the domain of operational control. Mechanisms for operational control are normally deployed ex ante, in-process, and ex post. A review of the scenario analysis literature from an operational control perspective leads to the conclusion that ex ante control mechanisms are extensively discussed. In-process control mechanisms are also discussed extensively but only by some authors. Ex post controls are almost never discussed. This suggests that when a scenario analysis goes wrong it cannot be reworked or recovered. This is a surprising implicit proposition and this article uses a case study approach to challenge this omission and to conclude that, like for many other business processes, rework and recovery of scenario analysis can be a legitimate and valuable activity.

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