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Laws and regulations govern the everyday life of businesses and citizens, and are important tools of public policy. Regulating has never been easy, but the overwhelming pace of technological change and unprecedented interconnectedness of economies has made it a daunting task. The 2018 Regulatory Policy Outlook, the second in the series, maps country efforts to improve regulatory quality in line with the 2012 OECD Recommendation on Regulatory Policy and Governance, and shares good regulatory practices. It provides unique insights into the organisation and institutional settings in countries for designing, enforcing and revising regulations. It also highlights areas of the regulatory cycle that receive too little attention from policy makers. Finally, it identifies areas where countries can invest to improve the quality of laws and regulations and presents innovative approaches to better regulation.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can find it challenging to cope and comply with regulations and adapt regulatory changes. Good regulatory practice (GRP) helps create a stable and enabling regulatory environment for investment, trade, and entrepreneurhsip, and thus supports healthy economies and regional competitiveness. This report is the first comprehensive stock-taking of GRP implementation in Southeast Asia to support local SMEs and their integration into global value chains. For each of the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the report provides examples of GRP tools and approaches in areas such as administrative burden reduction, e-government, regulatory impact assessment, ex post evaluation, and stakeholder consultation. The report also includes an overview of collective efforts pursued at the ASEAN level to promote the GRP agenda across the region.

How regulations are implemented and enforced, and how compliance is ensured and promoted, are critical determinants of whether a regulatory system is working as intended. Inspections are one of the most important ways to enforce regulations and to ensure regulatory compliance. Based on the 2014 OECD Best Practice Principles for Regulatory Enforcement and Inspection, this Toolkit offers government officials, regulators, stakeholders and experts a simple tool for assessing the inspection and enforcement system in a given jurisdiction, institution or structure. Its checklist of 12 criteria can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses, gauge actual performance, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

The OECD Regulatory Policy Review of Slovenia assesses the regulatory management capacity of Slovenia. It takes stock of regulatory policies, institutions and tools; describes trends and recent developments; and identifies areas for improvement in the design, delivery and evaluation of regulations. The government of Slovenia has made great strides in regulatory policy, but challenges in implementation remain. This review provides policy recommendations based on best international practices and peer assessment to strengthen the government’s management and oversight of regulatory policy.

As 'market referees', regulators contribute to the delivery of essential public utilities. Their organisational culture, behaviour and governance are important factors in how regulators, and the sectors they oversee, perform. The OECD Performance Assessment Framework for Economic Regulators (PAFER) looks at the institutions, processes and practices that can create an organisational culture of performance and results. The report uses PAFER to assess elements linked to both the internal and external governance of Ireland's Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). The review acknowledges the achievements and good practices put in place by the regulator since its creation. It also analyses the key drivers of CRU’s performance and proposes an integrated reform package to help the regulator prepare for the future.

This report applies the PAFER to Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission and assesses its functions, practices and behaviour. It focuses on internal governance, including structures and processes for decision making, managing financial resources, attracting and retaining talent, managing data and assessing performance. The review identifies a number of challenges and opportunities for improvement, and is a companion to reviews of the internal governance of two other Mexican energy regulators, the Agency for Safety, Energy and Environment and the National Hydrocarbons Commission, and the review of the external governance of the country’s energy sector, Driving Peformance of Mexico’s Energy Regulators.

This report applies the PAFER to Mexico’s Agency for Safety, Energy and Environment and assesses its functions, practices and behaviour. It focuses on internal governance, including structures and processes for decision making, managing financial resources, attracting and retaining talent, managing data and assessing performance. The review identifies a number of challenges and opportunities for improvement, and is a companion to reviews of the internal governance of two other Mexican energy regulators, the National Hydrocarbons Commission and the Energy Regulatory Commission, and the review of the external governance of the country’s energy sector, Driving Performance of Mexico’s Energy Regulators.