Regulation and its metrics: three views of the cathedral

Posted on 27 May 2025

Dr Bernardo Rangoni has had a new article published

photo of Bernardo Rangoni

Dr Bernardo Rangoni has co-authored a new article with Claudio M Radaelli in The Journal of European Public policy called Regulation and its metrics: three views of the cathedral.

Abstract

Measuring regulation is a vital but contested task. Despite growing interest, most metrics are either rooted in ad hoc assumptions or shaped by international organisations’ priorities, rather than grounded in robust conceptual frameworks. We offer an original analysis of three analytical frameworks of public policy and regulation, and derive metrics from their foundational concepts. The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, rooted in institutional analysis, public administration, and political economy, sees rulemaking as the design of action situations. Legalisation, grounded in international law and relations, assesses the hardness of multi-level regulatory architectures through measures of obligation, precision, and delegation. The density-intensity approach, anchored in public policy analysis, measures regulatory content – namely, expansion or dismantling – as the result of policy decisions. We illustrate the distinct logics and metrics through a comparative application to EU regulation of credit rating agencies. Each framework sheds light on different aspects of regulatory change and offers unique advantages. Rather than advocating for a single framework, we argue for theory-grounded approaches and analytic pluralism. We conclude with guidance on when and how each framework can be usefully applied, supporting clarity in the use and design of metrics.

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