Richard Williams

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Richard Williams

  • Director of Policy Research

Richard Williams is the director of policy research at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Prior to joining the Mercatus Center, he served for 27 years as the director for social sciences at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in the Food and Drug Administration. He also served as an adviser to the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis and taught economics at Washington and Lee University. Dr. Williams is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam.

Dr. Williams is an expert in benefit-cost analysis and risk analysis, particularly associated with food safety and nutrition. He has published in Risk Analysis and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and has addressed numerous international governments, including the United Kingdom, South Korea, Yugoslavia, and Australia.

Dr. Williams received his PhD and MA in economics from Virginia Tech and his BS in business administration from Old Dominion University.

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Published Research

Risk Characterization for Nanotechnology

Richard Williams | Nov 11, 2010
This article discusses several key issues and approaches to developing risk characterization results and their implications for risk management decision making that are specific to nanotechnology.

21st Century Regulation: Discovering Better Solutions to Enduring Problems

Bruce Yandle, Henry Wray, Richard Williams, Scott Farrow, Andrew Perraut, Gary E. Marchant | Jan 07, 2009
This publication is the first in a new series of long-term research and discussions focused on finding solutions to the most pressing regulatory hurdles. This compendium consists of five papers…

Working Papers

Blueprint for Regulatory Reform

Richard Williams, Sherzod Abdukadirov | Feb 07, 2012
This paper proposes a cornerstone of foundational reforms on which to build comprehensive regulatory reform.

A New Role for the FDA in Food Safety

Richard Williams | Nov 15, 2010
If the FDA is to survive and stay effective, it must move to reinvent itself as a modern organization, perhaps a new kind of bureaucracy.

Regulation Checklist

Richard Williams | Jan 12, 2010
For most Americans and, in fact, many regulated firms (literally all firms), regulations and how they work are a mystery and they have no idea how to comment effectively. It is important that people concerned with regulations know what to look for and how to comment effectively.

Facilitated Market Solutions for Social Problems

Richard Williams | Sep 2008
This working paper by Mercatus Center Research Associate, Andrew Perraut and Richard Williams, the Managing Director of Regulatory Studies Program and Government Accountability Project explores the…
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Charts

Comparison of Final Rules with Monetized Benefits and Costs

Richard Williams | Apr 23, 2012
It is a commonplace to hear presidents and OMB officials claim that the total benefits of regulations exceed their total costs. In this week’s chart, Mercatus Center policy director Richard Williams highlights the disparity between the total number of rules and the number of rules with monetized benefits and costs in order to demonstrate that such claims simply cannot be validated.

Policy Briefs

Regulatory Overload

Richard Williams, Mark Adams | Feb 08, 2012
This paper shows how regulators can make Americans safer by writing clear, simpler rules and eliminating ineffective regulations.

Food Safety in the 21st Century

Richard Williams, Robert Scharff, David Bieler | Feb 24, 2010
In a March 2009 address, President Obama declared, “There are certain things only a government can do. And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat . . . are safe and don’t cause us harm.

Taxing Sin

Richard Williams, Katelyn Christ | Jul 2009
Sin taxes in modern economic terms amount to excise, or per unit, taxes that are chiefly designed to reduce specific behaviors thought to be harmful to society. Sin taxes have played roles of varying…

Taxing Sins: Are Excise Taxes Efficient?

Richard Williams, Katelyn Christ | May 2009
In this Mercatus on Policy, Richard Williams and Katelyn Christ of the Mercatus Center discuss the dangers and shortfalls of excise taxes on soft drinks.
More Policy Briefs

Testimony & Comments

Comment on OMB's Draft 2012 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations

Richard Williams | Jun 11, 2012
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has requested comment on the 2012 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local and Tribal Entities (hereafter referred to as “the OMB report”). This comment has been produced by Richard A. Williams, Ph.D., of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, an education, research, and outreach organization that works with scholars, policy experts, and government officials to bridge academic theory and real-world practice.

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: Federal Regulations and Regulatory Reform under the Obama Administration

Richard Williams | Mar 21, 2012
Richard Williams testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law on how effective regulatory reform has been under the Obama Administration.

Comment on USDA Mandatory Inspection of Catfish

Richard Williams | Jun 20, 2011
This comment analyzes the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s proposed rule concerning mandatory inspection of catfish and catfish products.

Improving the Regulatory Process

Richard Williams | Mar 29, 2011
Richard Williams testified before the House Judiciary Committee about improving the regulatory process.
More Testimony & Comments

Research Summaries & Toolkits

Letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Regarding the Underperformance of Regulatory Analysis

Richard Williams | Jun 11, 2012
For the past 15 years, the Office of Management and Budget has provided Congress with reports on the combined annual benefits and costs of federal agency regulatory programs. All have reported benefits exceeding costs, although it is impossible to tell whether that is actually true. OMB’s comparisons are inaccurate, for three reasons.

Blueprint for Regulatory Reform: First, Lay the Cornerstone

Richard Williams, Sherzod Abdukadirov | Feb 07, 2012
The United States’ regulatory system long has failed to consistently produce efficient, cost-effective regulations that deliver promised benefits. For decades, presidents and Congresses have attempted to fix the regulatory system through a series of statutes and executive orders aimed at increasing transparency and improving analysis. Yet the pattern of poor regulatory choices persists, suggesting the problems are not political but deeply embedded in the institutions themselves.

Regulatory Oversight

Richard Williams, Jerry Ellig | Sep 12, 2011
Congressional oversight committees can use regulatory impact analysis (RIAs) as a starting point for investigating whether a regulation achieved its intended outcomes and at what cost.

The Impact of Regulation on Investment and the U.S. Economy

Richard Williams | Jan 11, 2011
In this research summary, Richard Williams discusses how regulations affect investment and jobs.

Speeches & Presentations

Solving Food Safety Problems Without Antiquated Regulation and Inspection

Richard Williams | Jul 08, 2012
The United States system of ensuring food safety (FS) is more than 100 years old and, until very recently, was the primary system designed to ensure FS. The system assumes that primarily federal regulators have the necessary knowledge to instruct food manufacturers on producing safe food, with both federal and state governments enforcing their respective regulations. While there have been notable successes in the last century — such as mandatory pasteurization for milk and other products, low acid canned food rules, and basic sanitation requirements — much of this progress was achieved in the first half of the 20th century. In the last 30 years, the incidence of foodborne disease has changed very little.

Media Clippings

Should You Trust Calorie Counts?

Richard Williams | Jul 24, 2011
Outlet: New York Times

Jobs, Regulations and Broken Windows

Richard Williams | Mar 08, 2011
Outlet: Wall Street Journal

Managing Global Risk: One Size Does Not Fit All

Richard Williams | Feb 15, 2011
Outlet: Quality Assurance

New Food Safety Regulations

Richard Williams | Dec 02, 2010
Outlet: NPR
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Expert Commentary

Will the FDA's New Rules Improve Food Safety?

By Richard Williams |
Jan 04, 2013

The Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled a set of proposed food safety rules meant to protect consumers, but the proposal could lead to higher food costs without much of an improvement in safety. Mercatus Center director of policy research Richard Williams, who spent 27 years with the FDA as the director for social sciences at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, gives his thoughts.

Denmark's Food Tax Not the Right Solution for the US

By Richard Williams |
Oct 04, 2011

FDA Needs a New Role

By Richard Williams |
Dec 20, 2010

While the food safety bill passed by Congress this weekend includes measures such as an increase in inspections, it's unlikely that these changes will have a significant impact on improving food safety.

Passage of food bill not enough to ensure safety

By Richard Williams |
Nov 30, 2010

The food-safety bill passed in the Senate this morning, but it's unlikely that increases to the number of inspections and the power to force recalls given to the FDA by the bill will do much to improve food safety.
More Expert Commentary