Eighth Workshop of the APEC-OECD Co-operative Initiative on Regulatory Reform, Gyeongju, Korea, 9 September 2005

The APEC-OECD Integrated Checklist for Regulatory Reform, developed since 2002 and approved in 2005, is a unique example of the practical benefits of co-operation between the members of these two organisations. Elaborated in a series of focused workshops, the Checklist is a policy tool for self-assessment that combines APEC and OECD principles, integrates competition, market openness and regulatory quality, and highlights good governance objectives of transparency, consultation and accountability.

Structural reform and regulatory reform were highlighted in the APEC Leaders’ Agenda to Implement Structural Reform (LAISR), approved in Santiago, Chile, in November 2004. Regulatory reform was selected for priority work, with special attention to capacity-building, together with other efforts to stimulate policy-oriented discussions, better reporting practices and sharing of good practices. APEC was asked to deepen and expand structural reform-related activities through co-operation and collaboration with OECD in particular. The APEC Economic Committee was given a mandate to implement this agenda for structural reform. This joint symposium therefore was the first concrete step toward these objectives.

The 8th APEC-OECD Symposium on Regulatory Reform therefore focussed on three aspects:

• Encouraging economies to use the APEC-OECD Integrated Checklist for Regulatory Reform as a self-assessment policy tool taking into account domestic contexts and to share on a voluntary basis, the lessons learned at a meeting in 2006;
• Exchanging good practice and policy dialogue based on practical experience; and
• Selecting key issues for future study and work on a two-year plan to promote better understanding of structural and regulatory reform issues in APEC and OECD, provide capacity building where necessary and improve international regulatory co-operation.
  

Documentation:

• Proceedings of the Symposium
• Two-year plan

An APEC Economic Committee meeting is scheduled in Hanoi on 25 February 2006 to discuss substantive issues in the Checklist. A policy roundtable scheduled in September 2006 will provide an opportunity for economies to learn from each other’s experiences based on their self-assessment.

For further information, please contact Josef Konvitz: Josef.konvitz@oecd.org or Chan-Won Choi: chang-won.choi@oecd.org