Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA)

use and efficiency in direct Public Administration

Abstract

[Purpose] The study addresses Regulatory Impact Analysis - RIA, a practice recommended by the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - OECD, since 1997. The objective is to examine the governance of such a systematic process in Brazil and its effective adoption by public policy makers in the federal Public Administration, investigating aspects related to its implementation.

[Methodology/approach/design] The research carried out has a theoretical-bibliographical nature, based on a literature review, analysis of legal documents and related academic research, in an attempt to provide a better understanding of Regulatory Impact Analysis. Data from the institutional websites of agencies that make up the direct Public Administration are also collected and analyzed, in order to identify advances in the implementation of the regulatory instrument.

[Findings] The number of regulatory impact analyses available on the websites of the direct Public Administration bodies reveals that the regulatory instrument has not been used frequently, despite the legal obligation and warnings from the control bodies about the need for its use. In the few reports found, it can be seen that approximately half of the regulatory impact analyses carried out included social participation mechanisms.[Practical implications] The data revealed by the study give rise to an assessment of the effectiveness of AIR, as it demonstrates the levels of development of the process among the federal regulators analyzed and provides suggestions for improving implementation.

[Originality/value] The approach to the topic is timely, when one considers that the assessment of the implementation of the regulatory instrument, from its institutionalization to the present moment, allows for a greater understanding of the obstacles encountered, up until now, by the regulator, which helps in a reflection on possible solutions for the maturation of the process.