A few concepts related to Regulatory Quality
There
are several glossaries on the web, presenting RQ definitions, among which the
most extensive are:
-
European Commission: Better
Regulation glossary of the Secretariat General website
-
OECD: trilingual glossary
of Terms for Regulatory Reform
Regulation: designates any legal norm or instrument by which a public authority sets requirements on enterprises and citizens; this includes all laws (primary and secondary), formal and informal orders, subordinate rules, administrative formalities and rules issued by non-governmental or self-regulatory bodies to whom governments have delegated regulatory
powers.
Regulatory quality or quality of regulation: the search for the
best possible use of regulation in support of public policy. It should address all
stages of preparation, drafting, implementing and evaluation of regulation. It
seeks clarity, effectiveness and acceptability.
Better Regulation: policy pursued by the European Union to improve
the quality of regulation, and based (according to the Commission website) on
three key action lines:
Regulatory
Management capacities are the means employed by public authorities
to regulate by means
of the formulation of policy and its
implementation through regulation.
Regulatory
Management policy means a specific policy on Regulatory Management, which would normally
include the search for enhanced quality of regulation, but may be influenced by
other political considerations (economic, social, etc).
Regulators:
in this context
designates any personnel in government departments and other agencies
responsible for making and enforcing regulation.
Regulatory Impact Analysis/Assessment (RIA): a tool to assist decision by regulators, involving the evaluation and quantification of the economic, social and environmental impacts likely to flow from adoption of a proposed regulation or a non-regulatory policy option under consideration. May be based on benefit/cost analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, etc.
A broader definition of RIA would distinguish between the ex ante RIA which relates to likely
impacts of a regulatory proposal and the ex post RIA which relates to the actual impacts of an
existing regulatory measure.
Regulatory management means the management of regulatory processes in
order to achieve approved policy goals in a cost-efficient way.
Regulatory Reform: the concept employed by OECD to designate public policies aiming at improving regulatory quality, i.e. the enhancement of the performance, cost-effectiveness, or legal quality of regulation and formalities.
Smart Regulation: in the context of the EU, a new approach to regulatory quality, based
on a more balanced approach to the costs and benefits of regulation.
4/1/2010