A. Allan Schmid: Founder of the Modern Day Application of Benefit-Cost Analysis to Regulations—the evanescent utilization of an outstanding academician in Washington
My Work As An Institutional Economist
Some fifty years ago (1969) A. Allan Schmid, a visiting professor working at the Office of the Secretary of the Army, made a game changing announcement to his colleagues in the Systems Analysis Group housed in the Pentagon. Schmid argued that the then use of benefit-cost analysis, which was applied to capital expenditure projects such as dams and waterways by the Corps of Engineers, should be extended to federal regulations. The systems analysts in attendance were dumbfounded by the idea of applying benefit-cost analysis to a pile of paper as well as to a pile of concrete. The Schmid announcement is in this compendium: Schmid PPB located here.
