Foreword and acknowledgements

Economic regulators help ensure access to and quality of public utilities, facilitate infrastructure investment and protect market neutrality. They play a crucial role in supporting sustainable and inclusive growth and trust in public institutions. The role of the regulator, how it co-ordinates with other public institutions, the powers it is given and how it is held accountable for exercising these powers together form a governance architecture. This architecture needs to be well crafted and appropriately implemented, if the regulator is to succeed in combining effective regulation with a high level of trust.