The Economic Analysis Division (EAD) provides analytical and quantitative support as needed to Bureaus and Offices engaged in rulemakings, transactions, auctions, adjudications, and other matters. Economic analysis is important at the FCC for several reasons:

• Economic Analysis can undergird the logical reasoning behind a rulemaking, ensuring that FCC action is effective and burdens are minimized.
• An explicit economic analysis promotes the transparency of our decision-making process.
• The FCC committed to doing rigorous economic analysis in its January 2018 Order establishing OEA.

EAD promotes research through several formal and informal programs. These include a seminar series that features presentations of the latest working papers by academics and other researchers; a release time program under which staff economists are granted formal time away from casework to pursue a research project, and the publication of FCC Working Papers. These papers are the primary vehicle used to disseminate research from economists in OEA.

Economic Seminars. EAD manages OEA's Economic Seminars program, which is intended to advance recent economic analyses in the fields of industrial organization, regulation, and applied microeconomics. The Commission recognizes the importance of expanding its engagement with the research community because staff members often must address difficult issues requiring substantive expertise. Invited speakers primarily are economists but they also include other professionals with expertise on communications issues of interest to FCC economists and engineers.

Working Papers. EAD also manages the FCC Working Papers, which are preliminary materials circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The analyses and conclusions set forth are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of other members of the Office of Economics and Analytics, other Commission staff, or the Commission itself. References in publications to these Working Papers by FCC economists (other than acknowledgment by a writer that he has access to such unpublished materials) should be cleared with the author to protect the tentative character of these papers.