Delegation in the Regulatory State: Independent Regulatory Agencies in Western Europe »

"During the past 25 years, independent regulatory agencies have become widespread institutions for regulatory governance. This book studies how they have diffused across Europe and compares their formal independence in 17 countries and seven sectors." Providing a broad comparison of independent regulatory agencies in Europe, Delegation in the Regulatory State will be of great interest to researchers and students in political science, public policy, and public administration.

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1 Introduction 1

2 The institutional foundations of the regulatory state 13

3 Delegation to independent regulatory agencies: credibility, political uncertainty, and veto players 28

4 The formal independence of regulators: empirical analysis 55

5 Interdependent delegation: the diffusion of independent regulatory agencies 73

6 The diffusion of independent regulatory agencies: empirical analysis 106

7 Conclusion 124

8 Appendices 140

Bibliography 155

Index 181