The Formal Independence of Regulators: A Comparison of 17 Countries and 7 Sectors


Autoria(s): Gilardi F.
Data(s)

2005

Resumo

This article seeks to explain the pattern of delegation to independent regulatory agencies in Western Europe. Two types of arguments are advanced to explain variations in the formal independence of regulators. Firstly, the need for governments to increase their credible commitment capacity may lead them to delegate regulation to an agency that is partly beyond their direct control. Secondly, delegation may be a response to the political uncertainty problem, which arises when governments are afraid of being replaced by another coalition with different preferences, which could decide to change existing policy choices. In addition, veto players may constitute a functional equivalent of delegation, since they influence policy stability and therefore tend to mitigate both the credibility and the political uncertainty problems. These arguments are consistent with the results of the empirical analysis of the formal independence of regulators in seventeen countries and seven sectors.

Identificador

http://serval.unil.ch/?id=serval:BIB_37671

isbn:1424-7755

isiid:000236936700007

doi:10.1002/j.1662-6370.2005.tb00374.x

Idioma(s)

en

Fonte

Swiss Political Science Review, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 139-167

Palavras-Chave #delegation; regulation; regulatory policy; independent regulatory agencies
Tipo

info:eu-repo/semantics/article

article