Mapping Specialisation and Fragmentation of Regulatory Bodies

The objective of the Flemish database is to determine the current level of proliferation of regulatory bodies and to map how regulatory regimes are structured (i.e. what kind of organizations are involved and what are their characteristics?). This paper explores whether there are ‘groups’ of regulators who share certain characteristics with other members of the same group, but differ from other groups. In specific, we test whether the sector in which a body is active and the level of government to which it belongs, have an impact on the organisational form of the body and the tasks it performs. We find that economic regulators differ significantly from other areas. They are more insulated from politicians, are more specialised and seem to have a relatively strong legal mandate. The level of government seems to be a relevant explanatory factor as well. Federal bodies are more insulated from government than other levels. In addition, they are more specialised in regulation and have a rather limited legal mandate. The results confirm the relevance of comparing different regulatory areas and levels of government.

Doppler ultrasound in the measurement of pulse wave velocity: agreement with the Complior method

Aortic stiffness is an independent predictor factor for cardiovascular risk. Different methods for determining pulse wave velocity (PWV) are used, among which the most common are mechanical methods such as SphygmoCor or Complior, which require specific devices and are limited by technical difficulty in obtaining measurements. Doppler guided by 2D ultrasound is a good alternative to these methods. We studied 40 patients (29 male, aged 21 to 82 years) comparing the Complior method with Doppler. Agreement of both devices was high (R = 0.91, 0.84-0.95, 95% CI). The reproducibility analysis revealed no intra-nor interobserver differences. Based on these results, we conclude that Doppler ultrasound is a reliable and reproducible alternative to other established methods for the measurement of aortic PWV

Measuring Multi-Level Regulatory Governance: Organizational proliferation, coordination, and concentration of influence

As regulation increasingly results from the interplay of a wide array of different actors operating at different levels, it has become crucial to focus on how these constellations of regulatory actors operate. Although this research field presents huge potential for theoretical development, we still lack the measurement techniques to allow systematic comparative research. We contribute to filling this gap with four indices measuring crucial characteristics of multi-actor regulatory arrangements: (i) the scope of organizational proliferation; (ii) the extent of coordination between regulatory actors; (iii) the amount of influence that each individual regulatory actor has on the sector regulation; and (iv) the extent to which the regulatory influence is concentrated in the hands of one or a few actors. We argue that our indices are sufficiently systematic, reliable, and flexible to be applied in a variety of research contexts relating to multi-level and multi-actor regulatory governance

Lagere lasten voor de doelgroep, hogere kosten voor de overheid? Het verband tussen administratieve lasten en beheerskosten

Dit onderzoeksproject kadert volledig in de discussie rond de reguleringskosten die gegenereerd worden bij bedrijven, burgers en overheden. De laatste jaren is er veel vooruitgang geboekt in het meten van administratieve lasten voor bedrijven en burgers, waarvoor het Standard Cost Model (SCM) ontwikkeld werd. Om de volledige kost ten gevolge van het opleggen van regelgeving te kennen, dient men ook rekening te houden met de kosten aan de zijde van de regulator, d.i. de beheerskosten. Er is echter nauwelijks aandacht besteed aan de kosten die regelgeving veroorzaakt bij overheden, zodat de berekening van de administratieve lasten slechts een gedeeltelijk beeld oplevert van de totale reguleringskost. De doelstelling van het onderzoek is om na te gaan wat de invloed is van een verlaging van de administratieve lasten voor de doelgroep op de beheerskosten voor de overheid. Het is immers mogelijk dat een administratieve lastenverlaging een kostenverhogend effect heeft op de beheerskosten zodat het (initieel positief) effect wordt opgeheven. Het is dus belangrijk om de totale reguleringskost te beschouwen, aangezien deze door de hele samenleving wordt gedragen. In het rapport formuleren we aanbevelingen inzake een methode die toelaat om zowel op een kwantitatieve als op een kwalitatieve manier inzicht te geven in de oorzaken van beheerskosten van regelgeving.nrpages: 217status: publishe

Proliferation of regulatory bodies: do regulatory area and governmental level matter?

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Autonomy and Coordination in Multi-actor Multi-level Constellations. Case Study of Energy Regulators in Belgium

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Measuring multi-level regulatory governance : organizational proliferation, coordination, and concentration of influence

As regulation increasingly results from the interplay of a wide array of different actors operating at different levels, it has become crucial to focus on how these constellations of regulatory actors operate. Although this research field presents huge potential for theoretical development, we still lack the measurement techniques to allow systematic comparative research. We contribute to filling this gap with four indices measuring crucial characteristics of multi-actor regulatory arrangements: (i) the scope of organizational proliferation; (ii) the extent of coordination between regulatory actors; (iii) the amount of influence that each individual regulatory actor has on the sector regulation; and (iv) the extent to which the regulatory influence is concentrated in the hands of one or a few actors. We argue that our indices are sufficiently systematic, reliable, and flexible to be applied in a variety of research contexts relating to multi-level and multi-actor regulatory governance