Foreword
High-quality regulations should help governments meet policy objectives, such as protecting consumers and the environment, without becoming too burdensome for citizens and businesses. Argentina has embarked on a series of reforms to improve the quality of its regulatory framework. This has focused mainly on improving the current stock of regulation and government procedures and the more effective use of information and communication technologies.
The OECD Review of Regulatory Policy in Argentina presents information on the policies, institutions and tools used by the Argentinian government to design, implement and enforce regulations. The review provides policy recommendations to strengthen the government’s capacity to manage regulatory policy.
The review finds that Argentina is putting in place the necessary framework for regulatory policy. It has published several legal instruments to promote the use of regulatory management tools, such as ex ante assessment of draft regulations and stakeholder engagement. For instance, Argentina issued guidance to ensure that draft rules meet legitimate policy objectives and that the potential benefits for society outweigh the costs. Argentina should now ensure that this tool is systematically used, including to incorporate the views of citizens and businesses in the rulemaking process. Argentina has also made great strides in moving towards a “paperless government” by digitising internal government procedures.
The review also finds that several government agencies in Argentina, including secretariats and ministries, share responsibility for supervising the use of tools and practices to promote good regulation. Argentina has recently established a regulatory policy group, bringing together the current agencies and offices with responsibilities for the promotion of regulatory quality. This is a welcome development, which should, in time, ensure greater co-ordination and effectiveness of regulatory policy.
The review methodology draws on two decades of peer learning reflected in the 2012 Recommendation of the OECD Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance, The recommendation identifies the measures that governments can and should take to support better regulation. These measures set a baseline for assessing regulatory management capacity in Argentina.
The OECD Regulatory Policy Committee leads the programme on regulatory governance with the support of the Regulatory Policy Division of the OECD Public Governance Directorate. Regulatory policy country reviews are a key part of the committee’s programme.