Researcher Profile

Randall Lutter

Visiting Fellow

202.328.5118 lutter@rff.org

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Topics of Interest

• Air Quality
• Environmental Economics Topics
• Agriculture
• Benefit-Cost Analysis
• Clean Air Act

Randall Lutter joined RFF in 2010 after more than 20 years of senior experience in the management and evaluation of programs regulating health, safety and environmental risks, having served in three different federal agencies for four presidents, including service as the chief economist and deputy commissioner for policy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  
His current research interests include the quality of economic analysis of regulations, efficient air pollution regulation in the presence of non-convexities and uncertainty, and the performance of government agencies responding to outbreaks of foodborne illness. He has published extensively throughout his career, including co-editing a book for RFF Press, Painting the White House Green, on environmental policymaking in the executive office of the president.
 

Education

PhD Economics, Cornell University, 1986
MA Economics, Cornell University, 1983
BA Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 1977

Recent Work

• Working Paper

  Effects of Increases in IQ in India on the Present Value of Lifetime Earnings: A Structured Expert Judgment Study

  Oct 2, 2017 | Randall Lutter, Abigail Colson, Roger M. Cooke | 44 pp.

  Many policy interventions targeting the health of infants and young children are thought to raise cognitive performance. This study finds that in India, large-scale measures that effectively raise IQ would have substantial economic benefits.

  International
• Journal Article

  How Effective Are Federally Mandated Information Disclosures?

  Aug 30, 2016 | Arthur G. Fraas, Randall Lutter | pp. 326-349

  Government agencies require information disclosure in several areas affecting consumers, but often without evaluating its effectiveness. We identify best practices for prospective and retrospective evaluations of mandatory information disclosures.

• Working Paper

  What Is the Economic Value of Improved Labor Market Outcomes from Infant Nutrition? The Case of Breastfeeding in the United States

  Jul 6, 2016 | Marc Hafstead, Randall Lutter | 23 pp.
  Environmental Economics Topics
• Working Paper

  How Does Breastfeeding Affect IQ? Applying the Classical Model of Structured Expert Judgment

  Jul 6, 2016 | Abigail Colson, Roger M. Cooke, Randall Lutter | 38 pp.
  Environmental Economics Topics
• Working Paper

  How Effective Are Federal Food Safety Regulations? The Case of Eggs and Salmonella Enteritidis

  Jun 12, 2015 | Randall Lutter | 27 pp.

  The US Food and Drug Administration estimated that its 2009 rule to ensure egg safety would result in as many as 79,000 fewer related illnesses from Salmonella Enteritidis each year, a drop of about 37 percent; however, the agency’s early projection of the benefits was too high.

  Environmental Economics Topics