Patrick McLaughlin

Senior Research Fellow

Patrick A. McLaughlin is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research focuses on regulations and the regulatory process, with additional interests in environmental economics, international trade, industrial organization, and transportation economics.

Prior to joining Mercatus, Dr. McLaughlin served as a Senior Economist at the Federal Railroad Administration in the United States Department of Transportation.

Dr. McLaughlin has published in the fields of law and economics, public choice, environmental economics, and international trade. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Clemson University.

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Published Research

Continuity, Change, and Priorities: The Quality and Use of Regulatory Analysis Across U.S. Administrations

Patrick McLaughlin, Jerry Ellig, John Morrall | Aug 12, 2012

This paper compares the quality and use of regulatory analysis accompanying economically significant regulations proposed by US executive branch agencies in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We find that the quality of regulatory analysis is generally low, but varies widely.

Does OIRA Review Improve the Quality of Regulatory Impact Analysis?

Jerry Ellig, Patrick McLaughlin | Dec 01, 2011

Using data from the Mercatus Center’s Regulatory Report Card project and statistics on Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review time from reginfo.gov, we examine whether the quality and use of regulatory analysis vary consistently with OIRA actions.

The Quality and Use of Regulatory Analysis in 2008

Jerry Ellig, Patrick McLaughlin | Nov 01, 2011

This article assesses the quality and apparent use of regulatory analysis for economically significant regulations proposed by federal agencies in 2008.

Something in the Water?

Patrick McLaughlin | Aug 01, 2011

I test the level of information regarding possible groundwater contamination in the residential real estate market in Washington County, Minnesota. An approximately seven square-mile trichloroethylene plume has affected hundreds of households’ water supplies since at least 1988 in the region. I find that homeowners were initially well-informed by market forces, but were later somewhat misinformed by government actions regarding the potential of water contamination from the plume. A disclosure law passed in 2003 may have added new, low-cost, and imperfect information to the market that could explain the change in informational awareness.

More Published Research

Working Papers

RegData: The Industry-Specific Regulatory Constraint Database (IRCD)

Omar Ahmad Al-Ubaydli, Patrick McLaughlin | Oct 15, 2012

The Industry-specific Regulatory Constraint Database (IRCD) is a new database that quantifies federal regulation. IRCD offers a novel and objective measure of the accumulation of regulations in the economy overall and for all the different industries in the U.S. IRCD uses text analysis to count the number of binding constraints in the text of federal regulations, which are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). In addition, it measures the degree to which different groups of regulations target specific industries.

Does Haste Make Waste in Regulatory Analysis?

Patrick McLaughlin, Jerry Ellig | Nov 08, 2010

Most federal agencies must conduct economic analysis when proposing major regulations. This paper uses a new dataset scoring the quality of analysis that accompanied proposed regulations in 2008.

The Quality and Use of Regulatory Analysis in 2008

Jerry Ellig, Patrick McLaughlin | Jun 22, 2010

This paper assesses the quality and use of regulatory analysis for economically significant regulations produced by federal agencies in 2008. A shorter and updated version of this paper was published in the journal Risk Analysis.

Trade Flow Consequences of the European Union’s Regionalization of Environmental Regulations

Patrick McLaughlin | Jun 2009

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Testimony & Comments

The Economics of Mandating Benefits for H-2B Workers Patrick McLaughlin \| Apr 23, 2009 Research Fellow Patrick McLaughlin presents his ideas on the economics of mandating benefits for H-2B workers to the members of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the U.S. House Oversight and…	Public Interest Comment on Not Considering Costs in Setting NAAQS: A Costly Mistake Patrick McLaughlin \| Dec 15, 2008 This public interest comment, by Research Fellow Patrick McLaughlin, addresses the EPA’s practice of neglecting costs when drafting National Ambient Air Quality…
Average Fuel Economy Standards, Passenger Cars and Light Trucks; Model Years 2011-2015 (CAFE) Patrick McLaughlin \| Jul 01, 2008 This public interest comment by Research Fellow Patrick McLaughlin to the Department of Transportation addresses a new rule that would significantly increase the national corporate average fuel…

Media Clippings

Expert Commentary

Why Old Regulations Never Seem to Die

U.S. News and World Report

By Patrick McLaughlin |

Mar 26, 2013

Regulatory reform efforts often rely on agencies to provide information about which regulations are inefficient, duplicative, or outdated. While the agencies may indeed have a good idea of which regulations need to go, they have little incentive to actually see them repealed—that would mean smaller budgets, fewer employees, and diminished power.

The Coming Perfect Storm of Regulation

U.S. News and World Report

By Patrick McLaughlin |

Nov 27, 2012

The re-election would normally mean there is no need to be concerned about "midnight regulations,” the surge in regulatory activity that occurs during the lame duck period of an outgoing presidential administration. However, according toinsiders and experts on regulation, we may yet witness a post-election spike in rule-making that is similar to what we have historically seen after the Oval Office changed hands. Welcome to Washington, where even broad daylight can be made to appear like midnight.

The Science of Government Regulation

U.S. News and World Report

By Patrick McLaughlin |

Oct 31, 2012

Since the recession began in 2008, attempts to grow and improve the economy have been studied and hotly debated.Yet one critical component of the economy—regulation—continues to elude measurement. Questions like, "Do regulations kill jobs?" continue to be difficult to answer, because of the lack of metrics available for these rules.

RegData

Contact

Patrick McLaughlin

email: econpatrick@gmail.com

Research Areas

Videos

The Future of Regulations: Moving From Presumption to Proof

Matthew Mitchell, Keith Hall, Jerry Ellig, Patrick McLaughlin, Hester Peirce, Scott Jacobs | November 13, 2012

Books

Globalization in the 21st Century: How Interconnected is the World?

Patrick McLaughlin | Nov 03, 2008

Patrick A. McLaughlin, Research Fellow here at the Mercatus Center, contributed to this book with a chapter on analyzing the role of trade aggreements in spurring global trade and regional…

Podcasts

Regulation University: Beware of Inflated Benefits and Hidden Costs

Patrick McLaughlin | March 28, 2013

It is widely acknowledged that an agency’s decision to create a new regulation should be informed by an analysis of the regulation’s potential benefits and costs. The quality of these analyses, however, depends on the availability and appropriate use of information about potential benefits and costs. This program examines factors that can inflate benefit estimates and the implications of benefit inflation to regulatory policy and the reasons why certain costs of a regulation can be hidden even from those who bear that cost.

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