United States Small Business Administration
Office of Advocacy
RS 163
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Purpose
Compliance with regulation imposes burdens on businesses for which
they receive no explicit benefits or compensation. Despite widespread
recognition that the scope of regulation is broad and its economic
impact large, systematic efforts to track and account for regulatory
burdens on firms are uncommon.
This study is motivated by the Office of Advocacy's statutory
mandate to "measure the direct cost and other effects of
government regulations on small business" and to "recommend
specific measures for creating an environment in which all businesses
will have the opportunity to compete effectively and expand to
their full potential." The purpose of this effort is to
deepen knowledge of regulatory burdens, provide current information
about these burdens, and illuminate the effects of such burdens
on firms of different sizes.
Scope and Methodology
A nationwide telephone survey of 360 business firms was carried
out in July 1994. The firms were drawn from three sectors of the
economy that represented more than 80 percent of private employment
in 1990--services, trade and manufacturing.
Fifteen 4-digit SIC code industries were chosen; each industry
had between 50 and 70 percent of its jobs in small business and
employed at least 100,000 workers. The 15 industries, while diverse,
are not intended to be statistically representative of all industries
in the sectors.
The study focuses on specific federal actions that regulate how
businesses treat their employees and customers, and how they carry
out their production or management activities. Four basic questions
were investigated: (1) What perceptions do firms have of their
regulatory burden? (2) What profile can be created of regulatory
burden characteristics? (3) What regulatory cost components (dollar
costs and time burdens) can be identified and assessed through
such a survey? (4) What regulatory burden reduction issues emerge
from the survey?
Highlights
Ordering Information
The complete report is available from:
National Technical Information Service
U.S. Department of Commerce
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield VA 22161
(703) 487 - 4650
TDD: (703) 487 - 4639
Order Number: PB95-263190
Cost: A07/$27.00; A02/$12.50 Microf.
*Last Modified 6-11-01