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Policy Case for Research Into Regulatory Barriers: Reflections
on HUD’s Research Conference on Regulatory Barriers
to Affordable Housing
Jeffrey M. Lubell
Consultant
Policymakers often are required to make judgments and take
action without the benefit of an extensive research foundation.
Indeed, from a policymaker’s perspective, it sometimes
seems as if the research process stretches out indefinitely
without ever fully exhausting a subject or developing definitive
conclusions. When a major research project is (finally) completed,
it may come years after the program that gave rise to the
research has been completed and, in some cases, has even been
superseded by a new and improved program. Perhaps for these
reasons some argue that a call for more research is just an
excuse for delaying action.
On the other hand, research has a critical role to play in
the policymaking process. Research
can tell policymakers if a program is actually producing solid
results, if a program is
cost-effective in light of other programs with similar objectives,
and if ways are available
to improve a program to ensure it better achieves its stated
objectives. Research also can
help policymakers better understand the precise nature of
complex problems so that they
can design more effective solutions and test the efficacy
of alternative solutions. Without
solid research, policymakers, in a sense, are groping around
in the dark. They can feel
their way around the darkness and have a vague sense of what
is around them, but they
cannot actually see the true nature of things and whether
there may be better routes
through or around the obstacles than the one currently being
taken.
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