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One of Chile’s biggest strengths is its very sound macroeconomic framework that reinforces its economic resilience. This is partly based on a prudent regulatory and supervisory framework governing the financial system. Furthermore, the government’s Agenda for Productivity, Innovation and Growth, co-ordinated by the Ministry of Economy with the participation of other ministries and state services, constitutes a good opportunity to use regulatory policy as a driver to reform the policymaking framework of Chile. For example, Chile has already made substantive progress in making regulations more accessible and communicating administrative requirements. However, while in Chile national regulations provide the general framework for administrative procedures and an efficient state administration, the lack of a comprehensive regulatory reform programme has reduced the possibility of achieving even better economic outcomes and unleashing resources to boost productivity. The regulatory policymaking framework lacks some key features seen in other OECD countries (e.g. stakeholder engagement, regulatory impact assessment, oversight body) that would make sure that regulations are designed in the best way. Good practices in rule-making procedures are also rather limited. This review presents the way forward for improving the government’s capacity to ensure high-quality regulation in Chile.

Regulators operate in a complex, high-risk environment at the interface between the public and the private sectors. They often share some responsibilities for the sectors and industries they regulate with other public institutions. And yet, if the lights go out, tap water stop running, trains break down or phones stop working, they are often held to account. In this challenging environment, the governance of regulators is critical. The role of the regulator and how it co-ordinates with other public institutions, the powers it is given and how it is held accountable for exercising these powers are key elements of a governance architecture that needs to be carefully crafted and appropriately implemented if the regulator is to succeed in combining effective regulation with a high level of trust. This report looks at the way in which four regulators – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), Portugal’s Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority (ERSAR) and the UK Office of Rail and Road (ORR) – have addressed these governance challenges. The report identifies approaches to implement accountability, transparency and co-ordination and helps identify some lessons that can help guide how these principles can be translated into practice.

This innovative book combines results from research conducted in Colombia about how communications services consumers make consumption choices with OECD expertise in regulatory policy, behavioural economics, and data analytics, in order to help improve the consumer protection regime in Colombia. It focuses on the types of incentives that should be provided to change both provider and user behaviour, and considers where appropriate regulatory interventions may be needed to ensure that these incentives are realised. This work supports the Communications Regulator of Colombia in redesigning its consumer protection regime. This effort has refocused the regulatory framework from 'protecting rights' towards making the market function best; this involves encouraging the providers to improve the quality of their services and rates offered in the market and to foster a better understanding of what is being offered and how. The book also makes specific recommendations on possible follow-up experiments to test some of the possible solutions to help communications services consumers better understand the information provided by service operators.

This volume collects expert papers on: the trends and challenges of regulatory policy today; regulatory impact assessment; stakeholder engagement; and ex-post evaluation. These papers provide background material for the 2015 edition of the OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook. They summarise the knowledge to date on these topics and underline progress made by countries in establishing the conditions for good regulation as well as the remaining challenges.

Regulations are the rules that govern the everyday life of businesses and citizens. They are an essential instrument in the hands of government to promote economic growth, social welfare and environmental protection. However, regulations can also be costly and ineffective in achieving their objectives. The Regulatory Policy Outlook is the first evidence-based analysis of the progress made by countries to improve the way they regulate. Based on a unique survey filled by all OECD countries and the European Commission, the Outlook assesses progress in establishing the conditions for good regulation. It provides unique insights into the organisation and institutional settings in countries to design, enforce and revise regulations. It uncovers the areas of the regulatory cycle that receive too limited attention from policy makers, and identifies actors who have an important part to play to improve the way regulations are developed, implemented and evaluated. It reviews the use of three critical tools of regulatory policy (Regulatory Impact Assessment, stakeholder engagement and ex post evaluation) and proposes options to use them in a more strategic manner to inform the development and delivery of regulations.

This review takes stock of the development and implementation of regulatory reform at a critical juncture for Lithuania. Confronted with the challenge of supporting growth and competitiveness, Lithuania has embarked upon an ambitious reform programme that addresses not only the development of new regulations but also the inspection and enforcement processes that support the effective implementation of these regulations with the least administrative burden for citizens and businesses. This is relatively rare among OECD members and the review assesses this comprehensive reform programme with a special focus on inspection and enforcement. First in its kind, the review benchmarks Lithuania's reforms against the OECD Best Practice Principles on Regulatory Enforcement and Inspection. The review identifies practical recommendations for strengthening regulatory effectiveness and support growth and competitiveness.