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Quality Indicators of Regulatory Management Systems

Stéphane Jacobzone, Chang Won Choi, Claire Miguet

The views are the author’s responsibility

OECD

Seminaire « Mesure du Droit15-16 Décembre 2006, Conseil d’EtatParis

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Conceptual framework Regulatory management: processes for generating new

regulations and for reengineering existing regulations Focus on Institutions, Tools and Policies OECD 1997 and 2005 principles for regulatory quality and

performance: – Adopt at the political level broad programmes of regulatory reform

that establish clear objectives and frameworks for implementation – Review regulations systematically to ensure that they continue to

meet their intended objectives efficiently and effectively– Ensure that regulations, regulatory institutions charged with

implementation and regulatory processes are transparent, non discriminatory and efficiently applied

Normative choice derived from OECD work (in depth reviews of 22 countries)

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Policy areas covered by the survey P1. Adoption of explicit policy for regulatory reform P2. Policy coherence integrating competition and market openness P3. Clarity & due process in rule-making procedures P4. Communication of regulations P5. Provision of justification for regulatory actions , alternatives P6. Compliance and enforcement  P7. Transparency and consultation processes P8. Assessing the quality of new regulation through RIA P9. Facilitating licenses, permits and administrative requirements P10. Reducing and controlling administrative and regulatory burdens P11. Training in regulatory quality skills P12. Institutional capacity for managing regulatory reform P13. Parliamentary oversight of regulatory policy P14. The contribution of the judiciary to regulatory management P15. Multi-level co-ordination mechanisms for regulatory policy P16. Dynamic process of evaluation and update of regulations P17. Assessing Performance

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Institutional context

OECD work on Regulatory Reform started in 1998 Horizontal and multidisciplinary approach: link to

product market indicators by the Economics Department

Need to focus on “objective” indicators and to take advantage of the official network

Cautious approach: first descriptive results

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Regulatory Quality Indicators

First wave of the results from the 2005 survey Follows prior surveys in 1998 and 2000 Submissions received from 30 OECD

countries as well as the EU Commission Thorough check of older data from the prior

surveys

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The results

Descriptive stage: reflects the submissions with a policy oriented approach– Aggregated information on trends– Detailed comparative information on the recent results– Some preliminary composite indicators

Progress with institutional settings, RIA, rule making procedures, communication access to regulations, regulatory review and update

Complete comparative description of RIA processes and institutions

Preliminary data on trends in new laws and regulations

Institutional setting to promote regulatory policyRecent Trends

0 5 10 15 20 25

Specific minister accountable for promoting government-wide progress on regulatory reform

Body analyses regulatory impacts

Body reports on progress by individual ministries

Regulatory policy body consulted when developing newregulation

Dedicated body responsible for promoting regulatorypolicy and monitoring on regulatory reform

number of countries2005 1998

27

Forms of Public Consultation

26

23

1416

21

25

22

26

20

13 13

18

22

19

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Informalconsultationwith selected

groups

Broadcirculation for

comment

Public noticeand comment

Publicmeeting

Internet Advisorygroup

Preparatorypublic

committee

num

ber o

f cou

ntrie

s

Primary Laws Subordinate Regulations

Minimum period for allowing consultation comments

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Country

num

ber o

f wee

ks

Minimum period for allowing consultation comments inside government

Minimum period for allowing consultation comments by the public, including citizens and business

Communication of regulations

0 5 10 15 20 25

Guidance on plain language drafting available

General policy requiring “plain language” drafting

Laws publicly accessible via the Internet

Only subordinate regulations in the registry are enforceable

Publication of consolidated register of all subordinate regulations currentlyin force

Mechanism for regular updating of the codes

Codification of primary laws

Systematic procedures for making regulations known and accessible toaffected parties

number of countries2005 199827

Trends in adoption of Regulatory Impact Analysis

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Number of countries

RIA adoption

Regulatory Impact Analysis: requirements Recent Trends

0 5 10 15 20 25

Requirement to demonstrate that benefits of regulationjustify the costs

Requirement to identify the benefits of new regulation

Requirement to identify the costs of new regulation

Requirement for draft subordinate regulations

Requirement for draft primary laws

Formal requirement by law

number of countries2005 1998

27

Regulatory Impact Analysis: Specific Poliy Impacts

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Always Only for major regulationIn other selected cases No

Reducing Administrative Burdens

0 5 10 15 20 25

There is an explicit government programme to reduce theadministrative burdens imposed by government on enterprises /

citizens

It includes quantitative targets?

It uses Information and communication technologies

It streamlines government administrative procedures

It reallocates powers and responsibilities between governmentdepartments / levels of government

number of countries2005 199827

Trends in the number of new laws and regulations

-100

-50

0

50

100

150

-150 -120 -90 -60 -30 0 30 60 90

Trends in number of new laws

Tren

ds in

num

ber o

f new

regu

latio

ns

ESP

CAN

NLD

UK

DEU

POL

USA

FIN

BEL

TUR

ICE

HUN

NZL

AUT

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What is next?

– A reference point for monitoring regulatory frameworks

– Links between tools and regulatory institutions

– Areas of convergence– Further analytical steps

• Factor analysis to determine country profiles • Analytical work to assess the relevance of the

results and the link with other existing indicators and relevant economic variables