Relative Risk and Priority Setting at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: A Principal-Agent Perspective. Keith B. Belton, Chemical Manufacturers Association, 1300 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209
For decades, political scientists have been interested in how political appointees affect change within a bureaucracy. In recent years, researchers have used interrupted time series analysis of bureaucratic output to answer this question. This presentation examines the impact of comparative risk analysis on EPA enforcement during the tenure of William Reilly. Specifically, the presentation focuses on the effect of the 1990 SAB report, Reducing Risk, on EPA enforcement. Did the Agency’s actions comport with the view that expert—not public—perceptions of relative risk should drive environmental policy? Why or why not? The paper will discuss the implications of this case study for moving EPA toward risk-based decisionmaking.