Better Regulation to support better health

Better Regulation has always found in Health issues a rich terrain to test the effectiveness of the solutions it offers the economy and society. See the 23 posts of this blog under the Health category.

Our community will have a new opportunity to identify current trends and update our principles and tools, at the Annual conference of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), "Europe's leading NGO advocating for better health," to be held in Brussels on 2-3 September 2015.

The theme of the conference "Towards a European Union for Health - From Health in All Policies to EU Governance for Health and Well-Being?" will give rise to a number of panels and discussions, including one entitled: "Better Regulation for Better Health? Mainstreaming public health into the EU's agenda." The conumdrum is defined as: "Better Regulation is now an even greater priority for the European Commission through the REFIT process. Where does this leave broader issues of labour rights, health and safety, environmental protection or public goods that are perceived as sources of administrative burdens? "

Your blogger has been invited to speak, presumably to explain the benefits of BR to a panel and audience probably impatient with simplification and burden reduction efforts (judging by the wording of the issue). 

Also follow Alberto Alemanno, the great risk and regulation expert, who will fly our colours in the session on "Europe and Chronic Diseases : challenges accepted, lessons learned, ways forward"

Stay tuned for the outcome by visiting http://goo.gl/Ec51QS @EPHA_EU

Evaluation in support of RIA: the Russian experience

Our network friend Daniel Tsygankov from Moscow has just co-authored an interesting article on the "growth of the evaluation profession" published by the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation.
"Evaluation is an emerging field in Russia, and the authors have been intensively involved in it for over a decade. This article explores the evolution of evaluation capacity and describes the growth of evaluator competencies in Russia. It focuses on areas with extensive development: (a) the institutionalization of regulatory impact assessment in the public sector, (b) evaluation's development in nongovernmental organizations, (c) the growth of monitoring and evaluation capacity in private foundations, and (d) the emergence of local independent evaluation consulting. Although no common definition of evaluator competencies exists in Russia, the role may be included in a professional registry currently under development."

4th report on administrative reform (France)

In France the pace of public administration reform (PAR) is sustained by the regular statements from the high-level (interministerial) committee on public service modernisation CIMAP. The fourth meeting on 18 December has provided a status report and a list of new initiatives, with a focus on policy evaluation rather than regulatory reform. Page 11 of the press release lists administrative simplification measures for business and the public, to be achieved without legal changes. The Finance ministry also published on 16 December a short note on "complexity as perceived by business" and a series of graphs in ppt format. These documents confirm that the French approach to administrative burdens remains based on perception surveys rather than measurement operations. Another specific trait of French PAR is the priority given to improving internal communication with staff. This is the analysis developped by Acteurs Publics, an independent observer, of the new web-based consultation of stakeholders Faire-simple.gouv.fr.

EU Regulatory Fitness: results and next steps

On 2 October 2013, the Europan Commission published a Communication (COM(2013) 685 final) on "Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT): Results and Next Steps" which will be of great interest to smart regulators.
Extract from the press release:
"Whereas regulation at EU level is essential in many areas, it is often accused of stifling businesses, especially the smallest ones, or of interfering too much in citizens' daily lives. 74% of Europeans believe that the EU generates too much red tape. In response to that concern, the Commission has made a concerted effort over the past few years to streamline legislation and reduce regulatory burdens. In his 2013 State of the Union address on 11 September, President Barroso stressed the importance of smart regulation and declared that the European Union needs to be "big on big things and smaller on small things".
Today, the Commission takes another important step in ensuring that EU legislation is fit for purpose. In a Communication the Commission sets out in a concrete way, policy area by policy area, where it will take further action to simplify or withdraw EU laws, ease the burden on businesses and facilitate implementation. It is the result of a screening of the entire stock of EU legislation. The Commission also announced today the intention to publish a scoreboard to track progress at European and national in this regard. This exercise is at the heart of the Commission's Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT). "
The Commission website offers a summary of results of the 2007-2012 Action Programme for reducing administrative burdens in the EU, claiming that "the programme has reached its target its target of cutting 25% the administrative burdens stemming from EU legislation (estimated at €124 billion). The measures adopted at EU level until December 2012 are worth € 30.8 billion in annual savings for businesses.
The Commission exceeded the target by tabling proposals with a burden reduction potential close to €41 billion (33%). Some of this potential was lost in the legislative process as the Commission proposals were amended.
If all the Commission's proposals still pending before Council and Parliament in December 2012 are adopted, the total estimated burden could be reduced by 30.5 % representing total annual savings for businesses of €37.6 billion."

French national assembly adopts regulatory watchdog

According to the Gazette des Communes, MPs adopted on 19 September a bill tabled by two senators to create a national council for the evaluation of norms. This new body (CNEN) would replace an existing council, with added power to examine the regulatory stock, not only the flow of new legislation and its advice wold be binding on the government. This development follows the trend in France to focus regulatory policy on consequences for subnational authorities, which have many unfunded legal obligations and have accrued heavy deficits recently denounced by the national Audit Court. As part of the same policy, a moratorium on all new legislation affecting local authorities was decreed on 17 July.

Spain sustains simplification effort

On 4 September, a meeting of the Commission on Public Admistration Reform (CORA) took stock of progress achieved since the launch of the program in June, and concluded that more than half the 200 measures announced had been or were being implemented (see press release).
The full CORA report is now available on the site of the ministry in charge.
The Vice PM, who was chairing the meeting, also recalled that OECD was "controlling" the implentation, to help the Government avoid "complacency." An evaluation index of progres would be published every term.

"Nudging in Europe" (Workshop 12-13 December)

Top expert Alberto Alemanno is organising (with A.L. Sibony) a workshop on how EU regulators can use recent insights of behavioural sciences to design smarter regulation. The event will take place in Liège on 12-13 December, and Alberto is calling for contributions (deadline 1 October).
The announcement contains the promise of fruitful exchanges, and is well worth reading, even if you cannot attend. Here is an extract:
"A growing body of evidence suggests that insights from the behavioural sciences - from psychology and behavioural economics to neurosciences - can help design public policies that work better, cost less, and help people to achieve their goals. By showing that individuals deviate in predictable ways from neoclassical assumptions of rationality, behavioural sciences may help policy makers and administrative agencies to design policies that accommodate how people really behave, not how they are assumed to behave.
Under both UK Prime Minister Cameron and US President Obama, policy makers have recently been encouraged to draw on behavioural and social sciences insights in the design or implementation of new regulations." (for the rest, go to Alberto's blog).

Russian RIA takes step forward

1 July 2013 was a milestone for Russian RIA, which moved to the new level of expertise. Firstly, RIA will henceforth be prepared by regulators simultaneously with the development of new bills. The Russian Ministry of Economy will evaluate their quality. Secondly, draft regulations, impact assessments and public consultations summaries will be available on a single portal for legal acts. Thirdly, the scope of RIA has been extended to new policy areas (customs and tax regulations) and subnational regulations (the regional level, from 1 January 2014).
To share best practice between experts from the RF but also other CIS countries, a Facebook group named “Regulatory Impact Assessment in Russia” was launched in June 2012 to share news, event announcements, links to the latest research (including international), case studies and methodological approaches. By 30 June, 2013 the group, which brings together experts in evaluation of programs and policies, regulatory impact assessment experts from the federal and regional government agencies, representatives of business associations, and business owners, had already attracted more than 320 members, and the group continues to grow. In order to join this group you need to have a profile on Facebook, and just leave a request to moderators at https://www.facebook.com/groups/OPBRU/ (news from our Moscow correspondents.)

L'évaluation des politiques publiques évolue

Les 6 et 7 juin 2013 se tenaient à Grenoble les 11èmes Journées Françaises de l'Evaluation sur le thème des politiques publiques. Commentaire de la Gazette des communes. "Alors, usine à gaz ou aide à la décision ? D'abord, une mise au point : « L'évaluation d'une politique publique : c'est vérifier le lien entre la cause et l'effet, c'est apprécier l'utilité d'une action publique pour les concitoyens», rappelle François Mouterde, président de la Société Française de l'évaluation (SFE). A ne pas confondre avec l'audit qui se focalise sur l'efficacité organisationnelle et financière d'une structure, à ne pas confondre non plus avec la mise en place d'indicateurs et le suivi de ces indicateurs. Il y aurait une centaine d'évaluations de politiques publiques qui sont menées chaque année. Le président de la SFE assure : « Il n'y a plus un seul secteur qui échappe à l'évaluation : le logement, la culture, le social.». L'Etat, ses ministères, l'Ademe, l'Inpes, en font régulièrement. Les grosses collectivités tels que conseils régionaux, généraux, grandes agglomérations y ont pris goût d'abord par obligation, via les politiques contractuelles menées avec l'Europe ou l'Etat (Cucs), qui imposaient des évaluations. Aujourd'hui, les collectivités s'y engagent seules, poussées par deux motivations : « la pression financière qui les pousse à reconsidérer leurs politiques, à viser extrêmement juste ». L'intuition que «le monde change si vite. Il faut vérifier que les politiques sont toujours adaptées». "

EC Smart Regulation to produce results by end 2013

On 29-30 May, the Competitiveness Council adopted draft conclusions on smart regulation, as a follow-up to the communication on “EU regulatory fitness” and the communication “Smart regulation: responding to the needs of SMEs”. The conclusions urge the implementation, by all actors involved, of measures contained in the communications leading to tangible reductions in the overall burden of regulation for businesses, especially small ones, as well as simplification for end-users.
They contain inter alia a new, balanced definition of Smart Regulation which "is about achieving benefits at minimum cost, and means ensuring that: the potential costs and benefits of non-regulation and non-action are considered; alternatives to regulation are considered; regulation is evidence-based, in particular by means of robust Impact Assessment, and fit for purpose; the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality are respected; administrative procedures are efficient; unnecessary costs are removed without undermining the policy goals of regulation; overlaps, inconsistencies and gaps are identified and removed; and both effectiveness and efficiency are reviewed on a regular basis.
This edition of the Conclusions is useful in that the Irish presidency has obtained a clear schedule of works till the end of this year: the text calls on the EC to publish "before the summer 2013 the results of its mapping exercise; and in the autumn all planned REFIT initiatives starting from the 2014 work programme, prioritising those arising from the ‘Top Ten’ consultation; and by end 2013 the results of the pilot fitness checks launched before 2012."
The six pages contain many other valuable developments.

US Administration reviews impact of federal regulations

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has released its draft 2013 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations with a call for comments by the public by 31 July. "It also discusses regulatory impacts on State, local, and tribal governments, small business, wages, and economic growth. Chapter II offers recommendations for regulatory reform."

New economics to support smarter regulation (OECD Forum)

On 28-29 May, the OECD held its Forum, its largest annual open event where economists and policy makers from around the world meet to discuss latest findings and chart the future. The Organisation also uses this high moment to deliver some of its flagship products, such as the Economic Outlook, or the new rankings of its Better Life index, both topics widely reported in the news, or announce diplomatic breakthroughs (for instance the signature at OECD of anti-tax haven instruments). It was expected that an organisation committed to "better policies for better lives" would have a lot to offer smart regulators, whose mission is to ensure more efficient public policies by assisting decision makers with better evidence about economic, social and environmental outcomes. Perhaps the best introduction to the abundant new literature is the 28 May press release "New approach to globalisation and global value chains needed to boost growth and jobs" which provides an entry point to the technical studies on a number of new topics and initiatives. Among the most significant issues is the shift to the "global value chain" approach to international trade, which is based on the fact that "what you do" (the activities of a firm or country) matters more to growth and employment than "what you sell" (the final product). The past decades have witnessed a strong trend towards the international dispersion of value chain activities such as design, production, marketing, distribution, etc. and this challenges how we look at economic globalisation and in particular the policies that we develop around it, such as trade, investment, competitivesss and other policies. A new book on the topic Interconnected Economies: Benefiting from Global Value Chains was also released during the Forum.
Another report released at the same time, New Sources of Growth: Knowledge-based capital (KBC), finds wide differences between countries in the levels of KBC investment, which includes inter alia IT systems, innovative property and economic competencies (including brand equity, firm-specific human capital, networks and organisational know-how). A finer approach to investment is therefore now necessary.
All these new concepts and data series need to be accommodated by smart regulation tools, such as RIA (a new way of calculating economic impacts), ex-post evaluation (which impact to look for), if regulatory policy to keep up with its mission: quite a challenge but an appealing task, so watch this space !

Behavioural science for smart regulators (update)

Complianceforregulators.com is, according to its self-presentation, "a one-stop source for regulators seeking information, inspiration and empowerment, in pursuit of compliance." It is managed by Telita Snyckers-Nørgaard, an experienced management consultant. She has recently posted an interesting analysis of compliance under the catchy title "From the psychologist's couch: 16 concepts that (probably) motivate the people we regulate." It seems to draw from behavioural economics which is now a required input for regulators. See also our posts on the importance of behaviour study for EU smart regulation, and nudging regulatory technique. To discover "the ostrich effect" or the "'hyperbolic discounting", follow the link above. Consultant-speak or something for smart regulators?

New simplification package (France)

On April 2 the governement held the second session of the CIMAP (interdepartmental committee to modernize public action) to address a full range of legal, institutional and managerial issues related to simplification. The new policy launced in December intends "to establish a new balance in our society by way of structural reforms to adapt to major demographic, economic, digital and environmental changes". The press release and very complete press file provide details on the package of measures which include:
- a commitment to fewer and simpler regulations: in a four-line standing instruction, the governement urges prefects (in charge of local enforcement) to "personally ensure" that administrations facilitate implementation of rules by adopting smart interpretations (in French "interprétations facilitatrices"), "to simplify and accelerate the implementation of public and private projects." A moratorium on new rules implies that any new regulation must now be offset by a "corresponding simplification," (one-in, one-out policy.) Performance evaluation of central administration directors will include how how they have delivered on this government policy..
- Evaluation: a comprehensive review of all public policies is to be completed by the end of the current administration (2017). A detailed schedule is announced.
- Managerial: a package of 30 practical measures to improve local delivery; RIAs to include a study of impacts on local implementation of any new regulation; a list of some 100 advisory bodies already abolished has been published;
- Fewer state agencies: new rules on the creation of QUANGOs and the immediate merger or deletion of about 15 agencies were announced.
For more, see analysis from Acteurs Publics article or Expansion and download the press file.

RIA and Evaluation of Inclusiveness (UNESCO conference)

Organized within the framework of UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme, an expert workshop on the measurement and evaluation of social inclusion policies was held from 25 to 26 March 2013, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, with the aim of developing the study and mapping of indexes and methodologies available to measure social inclusion and assess the level of inclusion of public policies.
The 100 or so experts from governments, international organisations (OECD, EC and others) and NGOs drew up together a long list of available tools and data sources, then examined their contribution to impact assessment and evaluation processes seeking to improve the relevance and efficiency of inclusiveness policies. A concept note and all contributions are available online on the conference website, thereby providing from a single link a vast array of methodological resources for Social Impact Assessment and related issues.

Evaluation of fishing reform in Peru

An example of particularly well researched ex-post evaluation of a regulatory reform, from Peru: the study of the impact of regulation No. 1084 of 2008 which brought about the largest reorganization of the fishing sector in the last 35 years in Peru by introducing individual fishing quotas for vessels in the anchovy business (based on their fishing record and their storage capacity). This is quite a contentious issue internationally.
This publication provides a study of the balance of benefits and costs, as well as the opportunities and threats generated by the system of property rights in anchovy fisheries, three years after it was introduced in Peru. It also analyzes the appropriateness of extending the application of this type of fisheries management to the other major fisheries exploited in Peru today (eg, squid, mackerel), based on an analysis of the experience of the hake fishery earlier reform.
As expected, the allocation of property rights produced a number of benefits on the size and profitability of the fishing industry, and on the envirnoment (slowing the "race to fish") (reported by Manuel Palmi.)

New evaluation methodology in France

The French Prime Minister has just published an interesting circulaire (standing instruction) dated 7 January on the evaluation of public policies and simplification plans. Following the first meeting of the interdepartmental committeeon modernization of public policy, which took place on 18 December, the PM asked each minister to carry out, by the end of the year 2013, an evaluation of public policies under his responsibility, and to draw up a ministerial program for modernization and simplification. An appendix to the circulaire gives a step-by-step methodological guide for the evaluation of "partnership public policies."
The new modernisation strategy, which succeeds the General review of public policies in force between 2007 and 2010, continues to stress the internal scrutiny of public policies and the search for administrative efficiency with fiscal constraints as starting points for reform. The stated goal of the exercise is to draw up a "shared vision of policies" based on an objective evaluation of inter alia their relevance, efficiency and sustainability. There is no stated overall economic objective (such as competitiveness or jobs for instance). The methodology examines in detail how the ministries must steer the project and mentions consulting stakeholders, among which there are the locally elected officials, the public social protection bodies and the beneficiaries (including business). There is no provision for a specific business advisory structure.
Meanwhile, the pressure from the trade unions does not show any sign of letting up. They have all expressed the fear that the new policy serves to identify new budget savings, and ultimately to obey the same logic as the RGPP, even if the key measure of the latter, the non-replacement of the half positions vacated by retirement, has been abandoned. One trade union even condemns "a new process that maintains the objectives of the RGPP cuts in jobs, services and public functions."

Deregulation agenda in France

Yesterday (18 Dec.) in line with previously announced plans, the first meeting of the interministerial committee on modernisation of public action confirmed the objectives and ways of controling the regulatory flow, with a set of measures seen by some observers (for example Acteurs Publics article) as a "plan antinormes", something close to a deregulation agenda. This initiative is however primarily aimed at helping local government authorities face the constant stream of new rules from the centre, publicly denounced as excessive by President Hollande, and now the prime concern of better regulation in France.
The array of tools to be used include a better evaluation of public policies, and a "one-in, one-out" rule already announced by President Hollande.
For the wider context of administrative reform, see the PM's declaration closing the CIMAP meeting (VB.)

Behavioural insights for smarter regulation (EU)

On the LinkedIn Smart Regulation forum, A. Alemanno informs us that DG SANCO has responded - on behalf of the European Commission - to his editorial "Nudging Europe” (see previous blog item) Published in the current issue of European Voice, the response lists a number of instances in which the European Commission (and the co-legislators) would have integrated behavioural insights into its policymaking. In a short analysis of the Commission's response, published on his blog Alberto argues that the Commission's cannot claim to have systematically introduced behavioural insights, though some ad hoc usage has occurred over the last few years in several DGs. Both the response and the new development make most interesting reading.

"Nudging:" a new regulatory technique (A. Alemanno)

Associate Professor of law at HEC Paris and top regulatory expert Alberto Alemanno explains in his op-ed published last week in European Voice why the European Commission should include behavioural insights in the design of regulatory proposals (print copy). (Excerpts): "In recent years, findings in behavioural sciences have highlighted the complex cognitive framework in which people make decisions. In particular, behavioural economics, by refuting the neoclassical assumption of human full rationality, has revealed a set of psychological biases capable of explaining why too often people make choices that seem to go against their best interests... These findings have important implications not only for the well-being of European citizens but also for regulatory policy... Under both US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, policymakers have recently been encouraged to draw on behavioural and social-science insights in the design or implementation of new regulations, an approach commonly called ‘nudge'. Inspired by ‘libertarian paternalism', it enables the creation of public policies that steer citizens towards making positive decisions as individuals and for society while preserving individual choice... Besides a few isolated initiatives displaying some behavioural consideration (eg, revision of the tobacco products directive, consumer information regulation, behavioural advertising), the EU has not yet shown a commitment to integrating behavioural research into its policymaking. Given the potential of this regulatory approach to produce effective, low-cost and choice-preserving policies, this seems inadequate, especially given the EU's commitment to smart regulation, a commitment stated in its Europe 2020 Strategy."
Other sources on nudging include Cass Sunstein's book written with R. Thaler "Nudge." For more news on the concept and technique, see the Nudge blog.