Rules can be significantly improved if those they affect are involved in their development. This allows assumptions to be tested and alternatives found, and helps governments improve the design of regulations by better understanding their impact. Moreover, when businesses, associations and the public can share feedback and feel that their voices are heard in the policy-making process, they are more likely to comply with the rules and view them as fair, transparent and aligned with their needs (OECD, 2025). The OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG) measure the quality of communication, consultation and stakeholder engagement when developing regulations.
Primary laws are regulations which must be approved by the legislature. On a scale of 0 to 4, iREG found the average quality of systems and practices for engaging stakeholders on primary laws among OECD countries improved from 2.0 in 2014 to 2.26 in 2024 (Figure 8.1). The scores for 25 countries and the EU increased, most notably in Iceland (+1.77), Israel (+1.76) and Italy (+1.21). Oversight and quality control remains the weakest dimension measured, with an average score of 0.38 out of 1 across OECD countries in 2024. Countries could use existing tools to improve in this area: 33 out of 38 (87%) have set up a stakeholder consultation oversight body, but only 15 (39%) require policy makers to consider comments made by these bodies following reviews.
Subordinate regulations are those that can be approved by the head of government, a minister or the cabinet. The average quality of stakeholder engagement on subordinate regulations increased from 1.95 in 2014 to 2.16 in 2024 across the OECD (Figure 8.2). Again, 25 countries and the EU increased their scores, led by Israel (+1.96) and Italy (+1.12). Engagement on subordinate regulations continues to lag that of primary laws, with the gap increasing very slightly (by 0.05) between 2014 and 2024. This was due to greater improvements in the areas of systematic adoption and transparency for primary laws than for subordinate regulations. Oversight and quality control remains the weakest dimension for subordinate regulations, averaging 0.37 out of 1 across OECD countries.
Countries could do more to harness digital channels to enable stakeholder engagement. The use of virtual meetings in early stage consultations increased from 35% of OECD countries (13 out of 37) in 2017 to 65% (24 out of 37) in 2024 (Figure 8.3). The use of online consultation at this stage rose slightly from 22 out of 37 countries (59%) in 2017 to 23 (62%) in 2024. Online consultation is also used in late stage consultations by 84% of OECD countries (31 out of 37), with 46% (17) always or regularly using it. Regular digital engagement is a trait of more advanced engagement systems: among the OECD countries that systematically use online consultations for draft primary laws, the average score for stakeholder engagement is 0.31 points (7.7%) above the OECD average.
