Towards Better Regulatory Governance?

Abstract

This article looks at regulatory reform in selected developing countries in Asia and Africa, by making use of the data collected through two existing questionnaire surveys conducted in 2003 and 2007 respectively. It is found that regulatory reform in these countries has not shifted from making ad hoc improvements to regulatory structures to taking a systematic view of regulatory governance and the means of promoting and enhancing it. For regulatory reform to improve regulatory governance, changes should be brought to both formal and informal institutions. Regulatory reform should also be integrated into the general reform of the public administration.

Key words:

• Developing countries
• regulatory decision making
• regulatory governance
• regulatory reform

Notes

1 Jacobs (2004) lists five characteristics of modern regulatory system: security; transparency; legitimacy; efficiency; and expertise. The Better Regulation Task Force in the UK published five ‘principles of good regulation’: transparency; consistency; proportionality; targeting; and accountability (BRTF 2000).

2 It is also known as ‘regulatory impact analysis’.

3 Empirical information on regulatory reform in transitional economies in eastern and central Europe can be found in the publications under the SIGMA programme, a joint initiative between the European Union and the OECD.

4 Thanks to one of the referees for pointing out this limitation, which was not mentioned in the original version.