AccountReg
“The Political Economy of Regulatory Agencies: Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness”
2013-2016
Through a comparative analysis of four countries (Mexico, Turkey, Spain and the UK) and three sectors (Pharmaceuticals, Stock Exchange and Telecommunications), the project AccountReg has contributed to a better understanding of the dilemmas associated with the issue of accountability and transparency of regulatory agencies.
The rise and diffusion of regulatory agencies during the 1990s has enthroned a particular institutional model of state bureaucracy: the regulatory state. Regulatory agencies were thus established in an attempt to promote autonomy, independence, and expertise as fundamental elements to the improvement of policy outcomes and economic efficiency. While democratic legitimacy has been traditionally entwined with accountability, the complex patterns of regulatory governance today make it increasingly difficult to determine who is responsible for and how to hold them accountable. Accountability has thus become a far-reaching concern for regulatory agencies.
AccountReg empirically analyzes the potential of regulatory agencies for political accountability. Taking accountability as a social relation between the agency and its forum, which includes an heterogeneous array of actors and organizations, the study had the following objectives:
Based on a mixed-method approach, the research design of AccountReg was based on the analysis of agencies’ websites, press coverage and legislative analysis, as well as 96 personal and semi-structured interviews with members of the agencies and their relevant stakeholders.
Funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Grant CSO2012- 39693.
2013-2016
Through a comparative analysis of four countries (Mexico, Turkey, Spain and the UK) and three sectors (Pharmaceuticals, Stock Exchange and Telecommunications), the project AccountReg has contributed to a better understanding of the dilemmas associated with the issue of accountability and transparency of regulatory agencies.
The rise and diffusion of regulatory agencies during the 1990s has enthroned a particular institutional model of state bureaucracy: the regulatory state. Regulatory agencies were thus established in an attempt to promote autonomy, independence, and expertise as fundamental elements to the improvement of policy outcomes and economic efficiency. While democratic legitimacy has been traditionally entwined with accountability, the complex patterns of regulatory governance today make it increasingly difficult to determine who is responsible for and how to hold them accountable. Accountability has thus become a far-reaching concern for regulatory agencies.
AccountReg empirically analyzes the potential of regulatory agencies for political accountability. Taking accountability as a social relation between the agency and its forum, which includes an heterogeneous array of actors and organizations, the study had the following objectives:
- To map and assess the transparency and access to information mechanisms of regulatory agencies in a comparative perspective, both in sectoral and national terms;
- To assess the relations of cooperation and conflict between politicians, public servants, professionals, businessmen, and other stakeholders in the context of regulatory governance;
- To better understand the policy communities around regulatory agencies, with a particular focus on their forum, their argumentation, and dialogue and justification dynamics;
- To identify which accountability mechanisms are relevant for the effectiveness of regulatory agencies, as they foster a learning process within both the agency and the broader community.
Based on a mixed-method approach, the research design of AccountReg was based on the analysis of agencies’ websites, press coverage and legislative analysis, as well as 96 personal and semi-structured interviews with members of the agencies and their relevant stakeholders.
Funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Grant CSO2012- 39693.
Researchers
External Contributors
- Ixchel Pérez-Durán
Main outcomes
Journal articles
García-Juanatey, Ana, Jacint Jordana & David Sancho. 2017. Administrative Innovations and Accountability Failures: The Termination of the Spanish Telecommunications Agency, South European Society and Politics, 22(3): 385-404, doi: 10.1080/13608746.2017.1345798
Bianculli, Andrea C., Jacint Jordana & Ana G. Juanatey. 2015. International Networks as Drivers of Agency Independence. The Case of the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council, Administration & Society, 49(9): 1246-1271, doi: 10.1177/0095399715581034
Books
Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín and Jacint Jordana (Ed.) 2015. Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, Series Executive Politics and Governance
Book chapters
Jordana, Jacint. 2017. Accountability Challenges in the Governance of Infrastructure, in Wegrich, Kai, Genia Kostka & Gerhard Hammerschmid (Ed.) The Governance of Infrastructure, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 43-62
Jordana, Jacint, Andrea C. Bianculli & Xavier Fernández-i-Marín. 2015. When Accountability meets Regulation, in Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín & Jacint Jordana (Ed.) Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-22
Fernández-i-Marín, Xavier, Jacint Jordana & Andrea C. Bianculli. 2015. Varieties of Accountability Mechanisms in Regulatory Agencies, in Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín & Jacint Jordana (Ed.) Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 23-50
Bianculli, Andrea C., Jacint Jordana & Xavier Fernández-i-Marín. 2015. Some Comparative Conclusions on Regulatory Governance and Accountability, in Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín & Jacint Jordana (Ed.) Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 265-277
Main events
June 3, 2016. International Workshop: “Regulatory agencies: Accountability and Transparency Challenges in Comparative Perspective” Info
García-Juanatey, Ana, Jacint Jordana & David Sancho. 2017. Administrative Innovations and Accountability Failures: The Termination of the Spanish Telecommunications Agency, South European Society and Politics, 22(3): 385-404, doi: 10.1080/13608746.2017.1345798
Bianculli, Andrea C., Jacint Jordana & Ana G. Juanatey. 2015. International Networks as Drivers of Agency Independence. The Case of the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council, Administration & Society, 49(9): 1246-1271, doi: 10.1177/0095399715581034
Books
Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín and Jacint Jordana (Ed.) 2015. Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, Series Executive Politics and Governance
Book chapters
Jordana, Jacint. 2017. Accountability Challenges in the Governance of Infrastructure, in Wegrich, Kai, Genia Kostka & Gerhard Hammerschmid (Ed.) The Governance of Infrastructure, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 43-62
Jordana, Jacint, Andrea C. Bianculli & Xavier Fernández-i-Marín. 2015. When Accountability meets Regulation, in Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín & Jacint Jordana (Ed.) Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-22
Fernández-i-Marín, Xavier, Jacint Jordana & Andrea C. Bianculli. 2015. Varieties of Accountability Mechanisms in Regulatory Agencies, in Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín & Jacint Jordana (Ed.) Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 23-50
Bianculli, Andrea C., Jacint Jordana & Xavier Fernández-i-Marín. 2015. Some Comparative Conclusions on Regulatory Governance and Accountability, in Bianculli, Andrea C., Xavier Fernández-i-Marín & Jacint Jordana (Ed.) Accountability and Regulatory Governance. Audiences, Controls and Responsibilities in the Politics of Regulation, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 265-277
Main events
June 3, 2016. International Workshop: “Regulatory agencies: Accountability and Transparency Challenges in Comparative Perspective” Info
