Richard A. Williams
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Senior Affiliated Scholar
Richard Williams is a Senior Affiliated Scholar, the former Director of the Regulatory Studies Program, and the former Vice President of Policy Research at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He is an expert in benefit-cost analysis and risk analysis, particularly associated with food safety and nutrition. In 2021 he authored, “Fixing Food: An FDA Insider Unravels the Myths and the Solutions.”
Williams has testified before the US Congress and addressed numerous international governments, including those of the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Yugoslavia, and Australia. His media appearances have included NPR, Reuters, Bloomberg, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Before joining the Mercatus Center, Williams was the director for social sciences at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where he worked for 27 years. He also was an adviser to the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis and taught economics at Washington and Lee University. He is a US Army veteran who served in Vietnam.
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Will Food Labeling Protect Us?
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
It’s Time to Rethink the Nutrition Facts Panel
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
On Year-End Government Waste and What It Points To
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Forget Nutrition Labels — When Will Real Obesity Solutions Emerge?
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Helping Small Businesses Comply with Federal Regulations
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Putting Faith in Improved Nutrition Labels Still Misguided
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Gottlieb's FDA Should Focus on Food Safety Policy
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Government Dietary Guidelines
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
A First Step: Issues with Implementing the Executive Order to Reduce Regulation
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Regulation under Uncertainty
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Will Food Labeling Protect Us?
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
It’s Time to Rethink the Nutrition Facts Panel
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
On Year-End Government Waste and What It Points To
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Forget Nutrition Labels — When Will Real Obesity Solutions Emerge?
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Helping Small Businesses Comply with Federal Regulations
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Putting Faith in Improved Nutrition Labels Still Misguided
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Gottlieb's FDA Should Focus on Food Safety Policy
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Government Dietary Guidelines
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
A First Step: Issues with Implementing the Executive Order to Reduce Regulation
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Regulation under Uncertainty
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
A New Role for the FDA in Food Safety
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Journal Articles Journal Articles
Risk Characterization for Nanotechnology
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Food Safety in the 21st Century
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Regulation Checklist
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Taxing Sin
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Taxing Sins: Are Excise Taxes Efficient?
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Research Papers Research Papers
21st Century Regulation: Discovering Better Solutions to Enduring Problems
- | Financial Markets Financial Markets
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Facilitated Market Solutions for Social Problems
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The Influence of Regulatory Economists in Federal Health and Safety Agencies
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Will Food Labeling Protect Us?
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
On Year-End Government Waste and What It Points To
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Forget Nutrition Labels — When Will Real Obesity Solutions Emerge?
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Putting Faith in Improved Nutrition Labels Still Misguided
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Gottlieb's FDA Should Focus on Food Safety Policy
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Get Bureaucrats out of Medical Decisions
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Time to Celebrate Red, White, Blue — Not Red Tape
- | International Freedom and Trade International Freedom and Trade
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Mercatus Scholars on Independence Day, Freedom, Red Tape, and Immigration
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Mercatus Center Scholars Weigh in on Brexit
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary