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The Economic Constitution of the United States

  • Cass R. Sunstein
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 38, no. 2, Spring 2024
(pp. 25-42)
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Abstract

The United States has an Economic Constitution, governing federal regulation, and explaining how to conduct regulatory impact analysis, with reference to quantification and monetization of the costs and benefits of proposed and final regulations. Known as OMB Circular A-4, the Economic Constitution of the United States was thoroughly revised in 2023, with new directions on behavioral economics and nudging; on discount rates and effects on future generations; on distributional effects and how to account for them; and on benefits and costs that are hard or impossible to quantify. The revised document leaves numerous open questions, involving (for example) the valuation of human life, the valuation of morbidity effects, and the value of the lives of children.

Citation

Sunstein, Cass R. 2024. "The Economic Constitution of the United States." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 38 (2): 25-42. DOI: 10.1257/jep.38.2.25

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D61 Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
  • D90 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: General
  • I12 Health Behavior
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J17 Value of Life; Forgone Income
  • L51 Economics of Regulation
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