Transcript Removing Roadblocks to Adoption of RIA in India: A Proposal

ADOPTION OF REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN
INDIA: POLITICAL ECONOMY CHALLENGES – HOW TO
OVERCOME
Removing Roadblocks to Adoption of RIA in
India:
A Proposal
Siddhartha Mitra
Jadavpur University
Outline
• RIA: Working Definition and Roadblocks
• Working around the Roadblocks
– Generating the forces of demand and supply
• Demand Generation
» Central message to be delivered
» How to spread the message
•
Building capacity to do the RIAs
• Removing the Roadblocks
– Overcoming opposition from bureaucrats and politicians
– Promoting regulatory independence
2
Working Definition and Roadblocks
• Definition: Concrete cost benefit analysis of regulatory
alternatives to facilitate choice among these
• Roadblocks: Possible opposition from politicians and
bureaucrats
– Politicians: promote special interests, populist regulation or focus on
issue of the day
– Bureaucrats: promote overregulation
3
Working Around Roadblocks
• Deliver message to community, especially business and media
– Content of the message should focus on
» The fact that RIA maximizes net benefits
» Costs are kept within reasonable bounds
– How should the message be delivered
» From CUTS International to NGOs, media, chambers of
commerce and business houses
» These in turn can feed the message to the grassroots
• Build capacity of staff in regulatory bodies to do RIA
4
Overcoming roadblocks
• Win over politicians and bureaucrats
– RIA provides certified documentation
– By maximising benefits RIA might have a salutary impact on fortunes
– Provides a fair and clean image
• Keep alive the movement for regulatory independence
– Regulatory independence involves separation of the state as owner of
public utilities and regulator
– Autonomy in rule making, rule application and litigation
– Chicken and egg relationship between RIA and regulatory
independence
» Promotes regulatory independence
» Independence in means necessary for undertaking RIA
5
Overcoming Roadblocks (2)
• Regulatory independence: a means of effective RIA
• Absence might mean that only subset of costs/benefits of
regulation are focused on
• Costs and benefits are not quantified
6
7