"For anyone interested in the interface between economics and environmental policy, this book is essential reading. Randall Lutter and Jason Shogren have brought together eight essays by former senior staff economists of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers who reflect on their unique perspectives as key players at the heart of that important interface."
–Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government, Harvard University

"A rare, inside look at the role of economics in high-level debates about environmental policy. The authors provide compelling accounts of efforts to rationalize environmental policy. The book is essential reading for those who seek to understand the role of economics and its limits in shaping environmental policy."
–Peter J. May, Center for American Politics and Public Policy, University of Washington

Contents, Foreword (Janet Yellen), Preface,
About the Contributors, and Introduction:
Lessons from a Hot Seat (Randall Lutter and Jason F. Shogren)

Presidents, like kings, lead cloistered lives. Protecting the president from too much isolation are advisers and aides who help ensure that the administration achieves its policy goals while enjoying broad political support. In economics and environmental policy, where disagreement among stakeholders and expert opinion is especially strong, the president needs good advice about political strategy, as well as unbiased information about the substance of policy issues. It is the latter need that the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is intended to address.

Painting the White House Green collects personal essays by eight Senior Staff Economists for Environmental and Natural Resource Policy who worked within the CEA from 1992 to 2002. These authors confirm the council's “severe” view of many environmental initiatives, a perspective that led President Clinton to label his economic advisers as “lemon suckers.” At the same time, they demonstrate that the emphasis on efficiency was to offer more effective environmental protection at lower cost. Thinking “green” meant thinking consistently about both economics and the environment.

The essays in this innovative book present lively debates on clean air, climate change, and electricity deregulation that pitted economists at CEA, the Office of Management and Budget, and often the Treasury Department, against political advisers in the White House and officials at EPA and other agencies. The essays present vivid portraits of the power plays involved in environmental policymaking, rare insights into presidential decisionmaking, and revealing details of the ways that economic thinking influences—or is neglected—in a wide range of policy decisions.

Randall Lutter is chief economist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Choosing Environmental Policy: Comparing Instruments and Outcomes in the United States and Europe

Private Rights
in Public Resources

Science and Technology Advice for Congress

Democracy in Practice: Public Participation in Environmental Decisions

The RFF Reader in Environmental and Resource Management

Economic Analyses at EPA: Assessing Regulatory Impact

Science at EPA: Information in the Regulatory Process

Private Rights in Public Resources: Equity and Property Allocation in Market-Based Environmental Policy

Improving Regulation: Cases in Environment, Health, and Safety

The Evolution of Hazardous Waste Programs: Lessons from Eight Countries