Publications

A brief, authoritative introduction to field experimentation in the social sciences. Written by two leading experts on experimental methods, this concise text covers the major aspects of experiment design, analysis, and interpretation in clear language. Students learn how to design randomized experiments, analyze the data, and interpret the findings. Beyond the authoritative coverage of the basic methodology, the authors include numerous features to help students achieve a deeper understanding of field experimentation, including rich examples from the social science literature, problem sets and discussions, data sets, and further readings.

On 22 March 2012, the Council of the OECD adopted the Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance.

The Recommendation is the first international instrument to address regulatory policy, management and governance as a whole-of-government activity that can and should be addressed by sectoral ministries, regulatory and competition agencies.

The impact of the financial and fiscal crisis, and of social change and environmental challenges highlight the importance of sound regulatory frameworks as a basic condition for well-functioning markets and societies, protecting the environment and the promotion of economic growth.


The Recommendation sets out the measures that Governments can and should take to support the implementation and advancement of systemic regulatory reform to deliver regulations that meet public policy objectives and will have a positive impact on the economy and society. These measures are integrated in a comprehensive policy cycle in which regulations are designed, assessed and evaluated ex ante and ex post, revised and enforced at all levels of government, supported by appropriate institutions.
Also available in Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Slovak, and Spanish
Many topics such as consultation and citizen engagement, regulatory impact assessment, multi-level coherence, risk and regulation, institutional responsibility for policy coherence and oversight, and the role of regulatory agencies are developed more fully and more practically than in the earlier guidance of the 1995 and 2005 OECD principles.
Each of the principles expressed in the Recommendation are recalled and further developed in the Annex to the Recommendation of which it forms an integral part. An appendix provides background notes to each of the principles of the Recommendation to assist the reader to understand the context of the elements in the Recommendation. Together the principles in the Recommendation provide countries with the basis for a comprehensive assessment of the performance of the policies, tools and institutions that underpin the use of efficient and effective regulation to achieve social, environmental and economic goals. Through its work programme, the Regulatory Policy Committee will support countries to implement the principles in the Recommendation.

Regulation is a key concern of industries, consumers, citizens, and governments alike. This book provides the reader with an introduction to key debates and discussions in the field of regulation from a number of disciplinary perspectives, looking towards law, economics, business, political science, sociology, and social administration. The text has been revised and updated to take into account the significant developments and events of the past decade. Containing several new chapters, it has been restructured into seven parts, covering: the fundamental issues regarding regulation; different types of regulatory strategies; rules and enforcement; quality and evaluation; regulation at different levels of government; network issues; and concluding thoughts. Drawing on cross-sectoral and cross-national examples, this book reviews the central questions of regulation, and reflects upon those contentious issues that affect the design and operation of regulatory institutions. Amongst other topics, it discusses ‘better regulation’, enforcement, self-regulation, risk regulation, cost-benefit analysis, and more utility regulation-oriented topics, such as price-setting.