Better business regulation in a risk society

328 Pages·2013·3.55 MB·English

by  Alberto Alemanno, Frank den Butter (auth.), Alberto Alemanno, Frank den Butter, André Nijsen, Jacopo Torriti (eds.)

Better Business Regulation in a Risk Society

Alberto Alemanno Frank den Butter
(cid:2)
André Nijsen Jacopo Torriti
(cid:2)
Editors
Better Business Regulation
in a Risk Society
Editors
Alberto Alemanno Frank den Butter
Department of Law Department of Economics
HEC Paris VU University
Paris, France Amsterdam, The Netherlands
André Nijsen Jacopo Torriti
Regulatory Reform Adviser University of Reading
Schoonhoven, The Netherlands School of Construction Management
and Engineering
Reading, UK
ISBN 978-1-4614-4405-3 ISBN 978-1-4614-4406-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-4406-0
Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012944737
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Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 1
Alberto Alemanno, Frank den Butter, André Nijsen,
and Jacopo Torriti
Part I Social Risks and Business Regulation
2 Risk Governance: Concept and Application
to Institutional Risk Management ........................................................ 17
Ortwin Renn and Andreas Klinke
3 Regulating the European Risk Society ................................................. 37
Alberto Alemanno
4 The Prospects for Global Climate Change Reform
After Copenhagen .................................................................................. 57
Mulugeta Mengist Ayalew and Yacob Mulugetta
5 Eight Commandments for Securing Competitive Food
Supply Chains in the European Union ................................................. 83
Bernd van der Meulen and Harry Bremmers
6 The Costs of State Intervention in the Financial Sector ..................... 99
Wim Boonstra and Allard Bruinshoofd
Part II Preconditions for Better Business Regulation
and International Coordination
7 The Perspective of Public Sector Economics on Regulation:
Transaction Costs and the Agency Model ............................................ 119
Frank den Butter
v
vi Contents
8 Against the Tide? On the Development of Regulative
Costs Over Time in Times of Crisis and Its Possible
Impact on Economic Development ....................................................... 135
Kees van Paridon
9 Internal Pressures–External Safeguards:
A Systemic Approach for Burden Reduction
in the Netherlands .................................................................................. 147
Jeroen van Bockel and Jaap Sleifer
10 Trust, the Pharmaceutical Industry
and Regulators in the UK ...................................................................... 157
Jennifer M. O’Connor and Jacopo Torriti
11 From Better to Best Regulation: Towards Competitiveness
by Cross-Border Consistency ................................................................ 173
Jooske Marijke Vos
12 World Trade Organization and the Global Risks ............................... 193
Predrag Bjelić
Part III Theoretical and Measurement Issues Related
to Better Business Regulation
13 Regulatory Policy at the Crossroads:
Mapping an OECD Agenda for the Futures ........................................ 209
Lorenzo Allio and Stéphane Jacobzone
14 SCM 2.0: An Argument for a Tailored Implementation ..................... 231
André Nijsen
15 A Tax Regulatory Laffer Curve ............................................................ 253
Saša Drezgić and Peter Pronk
16 Sunset Legislation: Theoretical Reflections
and International Experiences .............................................................. 267
Sylvia Veit and Bastian Jantz
Part IV Concluding Part
17 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 285
Alberto Alemanno, Frank den Butter, André Nijsen,
and Jacopo Torriti
Appendix A ..................................................................................................... 299
Appendix B ..................................................................................................... 301
Index ................................................................................................................ 315
Contributors
Alberto Alemanno HEC (École des Hautes Études Commerciales) , Paris , France
Lorenzo Allio allio|rodrigo Consulting , Lugano-Cagiallo , Switzerland
University of Exeter , Exeter , UK
Mulugeta Mengist Ayalew African Climate Policy Centre , United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa , Addis Ababa , Ethiopia
Predrag Bjelić Faculty of Economics , University of Belgrade , Belgrade , Serbia
Wim Boonstra Chief Economist Rabobank , Utrecht , The Netherlands
Money and Banking , VU University , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
Harry Bremmers Chair of Law & Governance Group, Department of Social
Sciences , Wageningen University , Wageningen , The Netherlands
Allard Bruinshoofd Economic Research Department , Rabobank Nederland ,
Utrecht , The Netherlands
Frank den Butter Department of Economics , VU University , Amsterdam , The
Netherlands
Saša Drezgić Faculty of Economics , University of Rijeka , Rijeka , Croatia
Stéphane Jacobzone Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate ,
Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development , Paris , France
Bastian Jantz Political Science, Administration and Organization , University of
Potsdam , Potsdam , Germany
Andreas Klinke Environmental Policy Institute , Memorial University of
Newfoundland , Newfoundland , Canada
Yacob Mulugetta African Climate Policy Centre , United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa , Addis Ababa , Ethiopia
vii
viii Contributors
André Nijsen Regulatory Reform Adviser , Schoonhoven , The Netherlands
Jennifer M. O’Connor Innovation and Enterprise Group , Imperial College
Business School, Imperial College London , London , UK
Peter Pronk Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration , The Hague,
The Netherlands
Ortwin Renn Environmental Sociology and Technology Assessment , University
of Stuttgart , Stuttgart , Germany
Jaap Sleifer Dutch Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden (Actal) , The Hague,
The Netherlands
Jacopo Torriti University of Reading , School of Construction Management and
Engineering, Whiteknights, Reading , UK
Jeroen van Bockel Dutch Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden (Actal) ,
The Hague, The Netherlands
Bernd van der Meulen Chair of Law & Governance Group, Department of Social
Sciences , Wageningen University , Wageningen , The Netherlands
Kees van Paridon Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social
Sciences , Erasmus University , Rotterdam , The Netherlands
Sylvia Veit Public Administration , University of Bamberg , Bamberg , Germany
Jooske Marijke Vos EURinSPECT , The Hague , The Netherlands
Chapter 1
Introduction
Alberto Alemanno , Frank den Butter , André Nijsen , and Jacopo Torriti
1.1 Perspectives on How to Regulate in the Risk Society
T he premise of the book is that the quest for regulation is expected to grow in the
near future as a consequence of the e mergence of a ( world ) r isk society (Beck 1 992,
1999, 2008, 2011 ) . As an illustration, one may think of how risks related to food,
drugs, infectious diseases, climate change, and fi nancial crises have steadily been
penetrating all conditions of life in recent times. One of the most immediate conse-
quences of a world risk society is that the decisions, acts, and omissions of few
entail risks for many. A major source of these emerging risks entailing large societal
damage can be traced to the growing complexity and connectivity brought about by
an ever more global economy. As a result, small adverse shocks can have cata-
strophic consequences (Boin 2 010 ) . More formally stated, the complexity and con-
nectivity resulted in risk distribution functions with fat tails. Institutional efforts to
manage risks have triggered different attempts to regulate several risk-related activ-
ities. Businesses, business’ products, and services are an integrated part of most con-
ditions of life and, as such, involve different risks. That is why business regulation
must be an integrated part of this stock of risk-based regulation.
A. Alemanno (*)
HEC (École des Hautes Études Commerciales) , Paris , France
e-mail: [email protected]
F. den Butter
Department of Economics, VU University , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
e-mail: [email protected]
A. Nijsen
Regulatory Reform Adviser , Schoonhoven , The Netherlands
e-mail: [email protected]
J. Torriti
University of Reading, School of Construction Management and Engineering,
Whiteknights , PO Box 219, Reading, RG6 6AY , UK
e-mail: [email protected]
A. Alemanno et al. (eds.), Better Business Regulation in a Risk Society, 1
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-4406-0_1, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
2 A. Alemanno et al.
Regulation has a long history. The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved
Babylonian law code, dating to ca. 1700 b c . It is one of the oldest deciphered writ-
ings of signi fi cant length in the world. Nearly one-half of the Code (282 laws) deals
with matters of contract, establishing for example the wages to be paid to an ox
driver or a surgeon. Other provisions set the terms of a transaction, establishing the
liability of a builder for a house that collapses, for example, or property that is
damaged while left in the care of another. 1 A more recent example of the impact and
relevance of regulation appears from the following text part of President’s Obama
Executive Order of 18 January 2011:
B y the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States of America, and in order to improve regulation and regulatory review, it is hereby
ordered as follows: Section 1. General Principles of Regulation: (a) Our regulatory system
must protect public health, welfare, safety, and our environment while promoting economic
growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation. It must be based on the best available
science. It must allow for public participation and an open exchange of ideas. It must promote
predictability and reduce uncertainty. It must identify and use the best, most innovative and
least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends. It must take into account bene fi ts
and costs, both quantitative and qualitative. It must ensure that regulations are accessible,
consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand. It must measure, and seek to
improve, the actual results of regulatory requirements …
(Obama 2 011 ) .
Many questions could be asked about the origins and functions of regulations. In
the context of this book, we con fi ne ourselves to the why and what questions related
to regulation.
Why regulating? The justi fi cation of regulation has different origins. The need to
regulate arises from different perspectives: the economic, legal, sociological, political,
and public administrative perspective. The economic perspective refers to regula-
tion that aims to enhance economic welfare. The legal perspective refers to the
contribution of regulation to con fl ict solutions, constitutional matters, and civil
rights. The sociological perspective refers among others to social control (“regulation
as solidi fi ed behavior”). The political perspective deals with regulations as instru-
ment in the political process (“regulation as a product of the political system: a
compromise”). The public administrative perspective stresses the cybernetic side of
regulation (the social order).
What regulating? This refers to the so-called policy areas: e.g., fi nancial, fi scal,
competition, social security, labor market, environmental, and spatial planning
perspective.
The complexities of the risk society call for a multi-lenses approach which covers
both the aforementioned “why” and the “what” perspectives. For this reason, the
chapters in this book are not solely based on economic argumentation, but also use
theories from sociology, from legal science, and from administrative sciences.
Therefore, the relevance of the capability-oriented approach—the Human
Development Approach developed by Martha Nussbaum and Armatya Sen—should
1 h ttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Hammurabi .