HOW CONTEXT MATTERS
Wednesday, 28 July 2004
2
HOW CONTEXT MATTERS
Claudio M. Radaelli
Abstract
Regulatory reforms in Europe have focused on ’good regulation’, ’better law-making’,
and, most recently, ’quality of regulatory tools and institutions’. This paper deals with
the main instrument used by governments to achieve good regulatory governance, that
is, regulatory impact assessment (RIA). The article shows that the diffusion of RIA
programmes in the European Union (EU) disguises considerable variability in terms
of principles, processes, and results. The lack of convergence is explained by
contextual variables. The argument here is not the trivial one that ‘context matters’ in
the diffusion of RIA, but how it matters in terms of dimensions. Hence the paper
breaks down ‘context’ into four dimensions, that is, stakeholders, institutions, models
of the policy process, and legitimacy. The paper shows how the four dimensions
explain the variability in RIA activities and outcomes throughout the EU.
Keywords: Regulation, Regulatory Impact Analysis, Diffusion, Convergence,
European Union.
1. INTRODUCTION: DIFFUSION WITHOUT CONVERGENCE
Both the OECD and the European Union (EU) are investing time, money, and
institutional efforts in programmes and government-wide policy initiatives for ‘better
regulation’ and ‘good regulatory governance’ (OECD 2002). Regulatory impact
assessment (RIA) is the cornerstone of these programmes, often in combination with
other tools, such as consultation, simplification, codes of conduct on legislative
drafting, and initiatives to improve on the access to regulation (e-governance, one-
stop-shops for enterprises, etc). The pivotal position of RIA stems from the fact that it
provides standards for the process of policy formulation, by showing how the socio-
economic costs and benefits are taken into account in the assessment of regulatory
proposals or in the analysis of existing legislation.
RIA can be used both ex-ante and ex-post. As such, it can assist processes of
simplification, for example by showing the costs and benefits of different
simplification options. Moreover, RIA includes the systematic consultation of
stakeholders – an important element in terms of regulatory transparency and good
governance. Box 1 presents the main elements of RIA, although most of this paper is
about how much the practice of impact assessment differs across countries. Box 1,
therefore, portrays the ideal-typical format of RIA.
Convention