International Regulatory Reform Report 2008

Book excerpt: In recent years, there have been many programs and initiatives focusing on improving the performance, cost-effectiveness and legal quality of regulations. The International Regulatory Reform Report 2008 reviews these developments in five key countries, namely France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The selected pool of countries shares a variety of initiatives and techniques including reduction of red-tape and economic instruments for regulatory policy-making. The report discusses "better regulation initiatives, structures and instruments of each country, informing the reader about the economic attractiveness and cost-effectiveness of key regulatory reform countries as well as the accountability and efficiency of their national governments. The study's cross-national approach and its focus on specific strategies and instruments make it relevant to practitioners and academics alike.