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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Journal Article — Mar 15, 2022
Looking Back at 50 Years of the Clean Air Act
An article coauthored by several RFF scholars in the Journal of Economic Literature looks back at the contributions of the Clean Air Act to the vast air quality improvements seen since 1970.
Working Paper — Sep 14, 2021
A Retrospective Review of Retrospective Cost Analyses
This paper examines the key drivers of cost estimates in retrospective analyses of environmental regulations.
Working Paper — May 11, 2021
Establishing Utility-Scale Solar Projects: Federal Involvement
Establishing Utility-Scale Solar Projects: Federal Involvement
Journal Article — Mar 17, 2021
The Economics of Regulatory Repeal
The Economics of Regulatory Repeal
Journal Article — Mar 15, 2022
Looking Back at 50 Years of the Clean Air Act
An article coauthored by several RFF scholars in the Journal of Economic Literature looks back at the contributions of the Clean Air Act to the vast air quality improvements seen since 1970.
Working Paper — Sep 14, 2021
A Retrospective Review of Retrospective Cost Analyses
This paper examines the key drivers of cost estimates in retrospective analyses of environmental regulations.
Working Paper — May 11, 2021
Establishing Utility-Scale Solar Projects: Federal Involvement
Establishing Utility-Scale Solar Projects: Federal Involvement
Journal Article — Mar 17, 2021
The Economics of Regulatory Repeal
The Economics of Regulatory Repeal
Workshops — 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
Workshops — 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
Workshops — 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
Workshops — Dec 5, 2012
Whither Markets for Environmental Regulation of Air, Water, and Land?
Whither Markets for Environmental Regulation of Air, Water, and Land?
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
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.
Common Resources — Jan 11, 2021
How Permanently Has the Outgoing Administration Impacted 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 discuss and debate how enduring these changes will be.
Common Resources — Dec 17, 2020
The New Benefit-Cost Rule: Less than Meets the Eye
A new rule from the US Environmental Protection Agency that impacts how benefit-cost analyses are conducted is not as restrictive as its critics contend.