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Behavioural insights (BI) has become widely used by public bodies around the world, mostly towards improving the way policies are implemented and influencing individual behaviour. As the field of BI evolves to tackle more complex policy issues, there is widespread perception that BI can and should go beyond the study of individual-level decision processes for higher impact. This report presents research on applying BI to changing the behaviour of organisations, with a focus on fostering elements of a safety culture in the energy sector. It presents comparative findings from experiments with energy regulators in Canada, Ireland, Mexico and Oman, as well as guidance for applying BI to safety culture going forward.

As 'market referees', regulators contribute to the delivery of essential public utilities. Their organisational culture, behaviour and governance are important factors in how they, and the sectors they oversee, perform. The report uses the OECD Performance Assessment Framework for Economic Regulators to assess both the internal and external governance of Peru's Transport Infrastructure Regulator (OSITRAN). The review discusses OSITRAN's good practices, analyses the key drivers of its performance, and proposes an integrated reform package to help the regulator prepare for the future.

When designing a policy, law, regulation or other type of 'rule', governments should always consider its likely effects. Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) provides crucial information to decision-makers on whether and how to regulate to achieve public policy goals. RIA examines the impacts and consequences of a range of alternative options. RIA also helps policy makers defend a decision not to intervene in markets where the costs of doing so outweigh the benefits. Regulatory Impact Assessment provides policy makers, civil servants and other public sector practitioners with a practical instrument for better designing and implementing RIA systems and strategies. The Principles cover a wide range of institutional organisations, tools and practices and present a list of critical steps as well as 'dos and don’ts' for developing RIA frameworks. This report is part of the series OECD Best Practice Principles for Regulatory Policy produced under the auspices of the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee. As with other reports in the series, it extends and elaborates on principles highlighted in the 2012 Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance.

The effective control of animal diseases and zoonoses requires co-ordinated policy action among countries. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), an intergovernmental organisation, offers a comprehensive framework increasing transparency on animal disease status, strengthening national veterinary services, and facilitating safe international trade of live animals and animal products. To achieve these objectives, OIE Members adopt a number of voluntary normative instruments, commonly referred to as OIE’s international standards. While the OIE works to support its Members in implementation, Members continue to face challenges in the use of these standards. This OECD study provides a diagnostic of the current state of play of OIE standards and of the data collection mechanisms that are (or may be) used to gather information on how they are implemented domestically. Based on this diagnostic, the OECD provides recommendations to support the OIE in establishing an Observatory to enhance the use and effectiveness of its standards.

The report provides a description and an assessment of the recent actions carried out by the Mexican government to enhance the quality of regulation and regulatory governance in the rail sector in Mexico. In particular, the report identifies and describes recent regulatory reforms in the rail sector; the progress in implementing OECD recommendations relative to rail regulation issued in 2017; the reforms that led to the Mexican Rail Regulatory Agency, as well as the legal powers granted. It also documents the current regulatory practices of this Agency. The reforms and practices are assessed against OECD principles and country experiences. Finally, the report provides recommendations for continuing the reform efforts.

This report looks at Peru's progress in adopting regulatory impact analysis (RIA). Based on an analysis of how regulations are issued in five Peruvian ministries, it evaluates the extent to which the building blocks of an RIA system are in place. The report offers recommendations for accelerating the adoption of international practices and the establishment of a comprehensive RIA system in Peru.

The WTO plays an important role in supporting efforts to achieve international regulatory cooperation (IRC) and to facilitate trade. First, the WTO provides a multilateral framework for trade among its 164 members, with a view to ensuring that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. Second, the WTO’s Agreements provide important legal disciplines, helping to promote good regulatory practice and IRC at the domestic level as a means of reducing unnecessary barriers to trade. This publication highlights how the WTO’s Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and the work of their related Committees promote opportunities for regulatory cooperation among governments and ease trade frictions. It demonstrates how members’ notification of draft measures, harmonisation of measures with international standards, discussion of specific trade concerns and other practices help to facilitate global trade in goods. The study also makes recommendations on how to benefit further from the transparency and cooperation opportunities provided by the TBT and SPS Agreements.

Behavioural insights (BI) are lessons derived from the behavioural and social sciences, including decision making, psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, organisational and group behaviour. Public bodies around the world are increasingly using BI to design and implement better public policies based on evidence of the actual behaviour and biases of citizens and businesses. This toolkit provides practitioners and policy makers with a step-by-step process for analysing a policy problem, building strategies, and developing behaviourally informed interventions.

Croatia has made great strides in strengthening its regulatory policy framework. Improving the entire regulatory policy cycle will ensure that regulations are built on a foundation of solid evidence and public participation and are designed to improve the security, health and well-being of citizens at a reasonable cost. This report assesses the country’s regulatory management capacity by taking stock of regulatory policies, institutions and tools, including administrative simplification policies, ex ante and ex post evaluation of regulations, stakeholder engagement practices, multi-level regulatory governance arrangements and tax regimes for small businesses. The review describes trends and recent developments, identifies gaps in relation to good practices and offers policy recommendations based on best international practices to strengthen the government’s capacity to manage regulatory policy.