Publications & Documents

Regulators act as 'market referees', balancing often competing interests of stakeholders in the sector, including governments, current and future actors in the markets, and consumers. At the same time, markets are changing at an unprecedented pace due to new technologies, the international drive toward carbon-neutral economies, shifts in consumer needs and preferences, and, most recently, the profound changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic. Assessing the performance of economic regulators must therefore be a continuous process. This progress review evaluates the changes put in place by Latvia’s Public Utilities Commission since the previous OECD performance assessment review in 2016, in the interest of increasing the effectiveness of its regulatory activities and improving final outcomes for consumers and the economy.

The Impact of Regulation on International Investment in Finland examines what drives FDI into Finland and which domestic regulatory aspects may discourage foreign investment. The report analyses trends in FDI flows towards Finland and other Nordic-Baltic countries and discusses the benefits of foreign investment for the Finnish economy. It provides a comparative overview of the regulatory frameworks in force in Finland and its Nordic-Baltic peers, outlining both economy-wide and sector-specific findings, and explores how changes in these regulatory frameworks are linked to changes in FDI inflows in the region. Foreign investors’ views on Finland’s business environment complement these findings. The report underlines potential areas for reform and suggests policy actions that could further improve Finland’s investment climate and contribute to attracting and retaining more FDI, while also strengthening its positive impact.

As 'market referees', regulators contribute to the delivery of essential public utilities. Their organisational culture, behaviour and governance are important factors in how regulators, and the sectors they oversee, perform. The OECD Performance Assessment Framework for Economic Regulators (PAFER) looks at the institutions, processes and practices that can create an organisational culture of performance and results. The report uses PAFER to assess elements linked to both the internal and external governance of Portugal’s Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE). The review acknowledges the well-respected status of ERSE within the institutional framework, analyses the key drivers of its performance, and identifies a number of challenges and opportunities to help the regulator prepare for the future, including in the context of deep market transformation and the COVID-19 crisis.

La législation existante n’a cessé de s’étoffer au fil du temps dans les pays dans le sillage des actions menées par les gouvernements pour faire face aux enjeux émergents. Pourtant, les lois existantes et nouvelles ne sont pas toujours parfaitement adaptées aux cadres réglementaires existants, d’autant que les économies et les pays sont de plus en plus interconnectés. Les Principes de bonne pratique de l’OCDE pour l’examen de la réglementation existante offrent un cadre pratique et souple auquel les pays peuvent se conformer lorsqu’ils examinent les lois. Ces principes aident les pays à établir leurs régimes d’évaluation ex post, tout en leur donnant des conseils pratiques sur les méthodologies à adopter. Le présent rapport s’inscrit dans une série de « principes de bonne pratique » élaborés sous la direction du Comité de la politique de la réglementation de l’OCDE. Comme les autres rapports de la série, il complète et précise les principes formulés dans le cadre de la Recommandation du Conseil de 2012 concernant la politique et la gouvernance réglementaires.