Government regulations often impose unnecessary social costs, and reduce competitiveness and economic growth. Over the past few years, the public has begun to demand greater government efficiency in regulatory policy and other areas.
Experts suggest several steps for regulatory reformers within government bureaucracies.
However, observers warn that government restructuring can have the unintended effect of adding complexity to existing law. In fact, agencies can become hostage to special interest groups and reflect their views rather than the public interest. And they can concentrate on increasing perceived benefits rather than improving cost effectiveness.
The traditional approach to government stresses top-down management that is increasingly obsolete in a world of rapid change and increased competition. Modern society is not well suited to traditional government, due to increasingly more complex economic and social institutions. Government should therefore follow the private sector in moving towards a more decentralised management structure.
Source: Joseph V. Kennedy, A Better Way to Regulate: What Government Can Learn from the Market, Policy Review, October-November 2001, Hoover Institution.
For text http://www.policyreview.org/OCT01/kennedy.html
For more on Government Mismanagement http://www.ncpa.org/iss/gov
FMF Policy Bulletin\9 July 2002
