An example of reform and recovery | Table of Contents | For further information

 

14 April 2010

Does regulatory reform play an important role in helping countries recover from crises? Do crises pose particular challenges for the implementation of regulatory reform programmes? This study aims to answer these questions based on case studies of regulatory reform responses to past crisis episodes in OECD countries.   As countries focus their efforts on strategies for economic recovery from the global financial and economic crisis of 2008-09, the findings of this study are timely for policy makers seeking to design, adopt and implement regulatory reforms. Part I highlights the benefits of regulatory reform, the importance of undertaking reform in a crisis and what lessons can be learnt from reform implementation. Lessons draw from several case studies and OECD country responses to crises of the 1990s and early 2000s, with a focus on Japan, Korea, Mexico, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Part II presents the detailed case studies of Japan, Korea, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

 

An example of reform and recovery from crises

 

Regulatory reform and the speed of recovery from crises:
examples from Mexico and Korea*

 

 

*. This figure shows the change in the GDP for Korea and Mexico during their respective economic crises. In the mid-1990s, both Mexico and Korea used regulatory reform as a key part of the strategy to stimulate recovery from economic crises. This was a successful approach as both countries experienced strong and relatively fast recoveries. In Mexico, the speed of recovery in 1994-95 favourably compares with that of the 1982-85 crisis. During the earlier episode, comprehensive regulatory reform programmes were not undertaken until at least 1988; this can partly explain the slower rate of recovery.

Source: OECD (2010), Regulatory Reform for Recovery: Lessons from Implementation during Crisis;
OECD (2010), Policy Brief on Regulatory Reform for Recovery and Growth, Forthcoming, May 2010.

 

Table of Contents

Part 1: Synthesis

  I. Introduction
  II. Study objectives and methodology
  III. Macroeconomic context
  IV. Implementing regulatory reform
  V. Supporting competition
  VI. Increasing market openness
  VII. Conclusion

 

Part 2: Case Studies

  Case Study 1 – Japan
  Case study 2 – Korea
  Case study 3 – Mexico
  Case study 4 – United Kingdom

 

Regulatory Reform for Recovery: Lessons from Implementation, full publication (pdf)

 

For further information

 

Please contact Stephane Jacobzone: stephane.jacobzone@oecd.org.