Regulatory Policy: OECD Experience and Evidence

In the past 20 years a key topic of public-sector reform in OECD countries has been the emergence of regulatory policy. During this period, the nature of regulation has undergone profound and rapid change. This paper reviews the development of regulatory policy in OECD countries over the last quarter-century. It identifies a range of tools and institutions that have been used by OECD countries to develop high-quality regulation. The analysis attempts to show that while there is considerable commonality on broad objectives of regulatory policy, considerably diversity remains in the implementation of regulatory policy across OECD countries.