Taking a Walk in History - Historical costs of environmental regulations

Real quick post: Previous posts on costs rely heavily on projections into the future, but how reliable are they?

Back in 1997, there was a study completed on the environmental regulations implemented in the '70s through the early '90s and the economic costs. In particular, they compared the cost projections to the actual costs.

The findings? In every single case, the actual costs were below even the low-end projections.

Why, you might ask hypothetically? Let me answer that with a copy-paste a response from Dean Baker, D.C. economist:

“The reason for that is we have an innovative economy. That’s the reason many of us like a market economy,” he continued. “And [EPA is] making their estimates based on what do we know today, what are the current technologies? But when you create a big incentive to innovate — as you do with these regulations — then you develop new technologies, you push the curve, and you end up with lower costs.”

Leave it to the markets, young grasshopper. Leave it to the markets.