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Performance‐Based Regulation and Regulatory Regimes: The Saga of Leaky Buildings
Author(s) -
May Peter J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
law and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.534
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-9930
pISSN - 0265-8240
DOI - 10.1111/j.0265-8240.2003.00155.x
Subject(s) - enforcement , accountability , flexibility (engineering) , appeal , law and economics , risk analysis (engineering) , business , computer science , economics , law , political science , management
Regulatory reformers have widely endorsed greater use of a performance‐based approach to regulation that defines objectives in terms of desired outcomes. The appeal of the performance‐based approach is as much about introducing a regime that overcomes problems of overly rigid rules and inflexible enforcement as it is about regulating for results. The case of leaky buildings in New Zealand provides a cautionary tale of a flawed performance‐based regulatory regime. It allowed for flexibility without sufficient accountability and in so doing showed the Achilles’ heel of performance‐based regulation.