Regulatory Impact Assessment And Its Propagation Within The Brazilian Context

Abstract

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is one of the instruments aiming regulatory quality improvement. Research has shown limitations in RIA diffusion process, particularly in developing countries, due to political forces at work in domestic contexts or to the available organizational capacities. This paper evaluates how contextual variables, specifically political and organizational ones, influence RIA diffusion in Brazil. The paper is based on field research consisting of semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders of the Brazilian regulatory framework, which analyzed RIA concept familiarity among stakeholders, available organizational capacities, bureaucratic context, policy process, and pivotal stakeholders' standpoint in adopting RIA. This research reveals the relevance of organizational capacities, as well as the influence of political variables in RIA diffusion process. Political variables explain the resistance toward oversight regulatory bodies, necessaries for implementing RIA.