Arthur G. Fraas
Visiting Fellow
Arthur Fraas is a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future. At RFF, Fraas works on a variety of issues related to energy and the environment, including projects looking at the development of retrospective analyses of major environmental rules, the treatment of uncertainty in regulatory analysis, the potential regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, and issues and tradeoffs with energy efficiency regulations. He retired in 2008 from OMB after serving 21 years as chief of the Natural Resources, Energy, and Agriculture Branch in OIRA. Before joining the OMB, Fraas was a senior economist at the Council on Wage and Price Stability, a staff member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly, an assistant professor of economics at the US Naval Academy, and a staff economist with the Federal Reserve System. He graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, and earned his doctorate in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Education
- PhD in Economics, University of California-Berkeley, 1972
Fields of Concentration: Money and Banking, Econometrics
Dissertation: The Impact of the Policies of the Second Bank of the United States on the Economy of the Ohio Valley: 1814-1829 - BS in Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, 1965
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Common Resources — Mar 12, 2024
Speeding Up Solar Projects: Siting Review under the National Environmental Policy Act
New solar energy projects can take a long time to be approved, built, and connected to the grid. Some recent federal efforts that aim to accelerate project development have shown mixed results.
Working Paper — Dec 15, 2023
Adding Solar: The Role of the National Environmental Policy Act in Solar Development
This working paper examines the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other federal permitting processes affecting utility-scale solar projects in the US Southwest.
Journal Article — Oct 16, 2023
Seven Recommendations for Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This journal article features seven recommendations for improving estimates of the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions.
Working Paper — May 10, 2023
Retrospective Analysis of Environmental Regulations
This summary describes the results of seven new quantitative analyses of major federal environmental regulations.
Working Paper — Dec 15, 2023
Adding Solar: The Role of the National Environmental Policy Act in Solar Development
This working paper examines the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other federal permitting processes affecting utility-scale solar projects in the US Southwest.
Journal Article — Oct 16, 2023
Seven Recommendations for Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This journal article features seven recommendations for improving estimates of the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions.
Working Paper — May 10, 2023
Retrospective Analysis of Environmental Regulations
This summary describes the results of seven new quantitative analyses of major federal environmental regulations.
Working Paper — May 10, 2023
Effects of Early Childhood Exposure to Ambient Lead and Particulate Matter on Adult Personality
This working paper assesses how early-life exposure to air pollution affects adult personality using annual lead vehicle emissions by county and "Big Five" personality data.
Workshop — Mar 30, 2022
Looking Back: Using Retrospective Analysis to Improve Federal Environmental Regulation
A workshop featuring "ex post" analyses of the benefits and costs of federal environmental regulations
Workshop — Sep 16, 2019
How Well Are Our Environmental Laws Working? Retrospective Analysis of Federal Environmental Regulation
How Well Are Our Environmental Laws Working? Retrospective Analysis of Federal Environmental Regulation
Workshop — Oct 21, 2015
The Real Outcomes of Federal Environmental Regulations: Lessons from the Performance Data
The Real Outcomes of Federal Environmental Regulations: Lessons from the Performance Data
Workshop — Dec 5, 2012
Whither Markets for Environmental Regulation of Air, Water, and Land?
Whither Markets for Environmental Regulation of Air, Water, and Land?
Common Resources — Mar 12, 2024
Speeding Up Solar Projects: Siting Review under the National Environmental Policy Act
New solar energy projects can take a long time to be approved, built, and connected to the grid. Some recent federal efforts that aim to accelerate project development have shown mixed results.
Common Resources — May 10, 2023
Looking Back to Assess How Well Environmental Regulations Work
A new series of studies examines the benefits and costs of federal environmental regulations.
Common Resources — May 12, 2021
Reforms to Federal Permitting Can Speed Solar Energy Deployment
The federal review process for solar projects crucially protects environmental and cultural resources, but reforms can help minimize delays.
Resources Magazine — Feb 25, 2021
How Permanently Can One Presidential Administration Impact Environmental Policy?
The Trump administration has reshaped how environmental regulations are implemented and how benefit-cost analyses are conducted. RFF’s Art Fraas and Richard D. Morgenstern debate how enduring these changes will be.
Media Highlight — Mar 4, 2022
What Damages Should the Feds Consider When Regulating Carbon?
RFF Visiting Fellow Art Fraas coauthored an op-ed about the nuances of the social cost of carbon for The Hill.
Press Release — May 11, 2021
Cutting Red Tape for Green Energy: How Can the Federal Government Lower Legal Hurdles for Solar Farms?
Cutting Red Tape for Green Energy: How Can the Federal Government Lower Legal Hurdles for Solar Farms?
Media Highlight — Apr 14, 2021
Shouldn't Infrastructure Users Shoulder Some of Its Costs?
Shouldn't Infrastructure Users Shoulder Some of Its Costs?
Media Highlight — Feb 16, 2016
UW Economist Shogren Endorses Change in Reporting Climate Change Benefits
UW Economist Shogren Endorses Change in Reporting Climate Change Benefits