Regulatory Enterprise Government, Regulation, and Legitimacy

Offers a thorough analysis of regulation in practice - focusing on eight major British regulators
Provides a clear introduction to regulatory accountability and the 'better regulation' initiative
Includes analysis of relations between regulators and other institutions, revealing the previously neglected work of regulators as a part of a network of public institutions
Takes the analysis of regulation beyond the more familiar work of economic regulators into regulation to promote human rights and social solidarity by examining a wide range of different rationales for regulation
Provides a comparative analysis of experience from France and the USA
Tony Prosser examines a range of different British regulatory bodies, including the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Food Standards Agency, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive, the regulators for health and social care, and the utility regulators covering communications, energy, rail, and water. He emphasizes that no regulator works in isolation but is part of a complex network of different institutions, including central government departments and European institutions. Effective regulatory accountability requires that the relations between the different bodies are clear and transparent, and the book assesses the extent to which this is achieved in practice.

Prosser also highlights the range of tasks which regulators perform. Many regulators are responsible for economic regulation aimed at increasing efficiency and promoting consumer choice, but they also have other roles, notably protecting human rights, promoting social solidarity and social inclusion, and providing a forum for deliberation and learning through listening to different interests. The different legal duties of regulators, and their operation in practice, are examined in relation to each of these roles, with an emphasis on how regulators ought to decide and how they can be held accountable for their decisions.

Finally, the book looks at how regulators themselves are regulated as part of the 'better regulation' initiative, it examines attempts to reduce regulatory burdens and to improve regulatory procedures, for example through the use of regulatory impact analysis. It also features comparative analysis of experience from France and the USA.

Readership: Scholars and advanced students, lawyers, political scientists and economists interested in public law and regulatory bodies, European studies and economics.