How to watch the watchmen? The role and measurement of regulatory governance

Abstract

This article proposes a method to evaluate regulatory governance. For this purpose, we develop a novel multicriteria decision analysis modeling approach. Performance criteria were organized into key dimensions and descriptors were constructed for each of the criteria. Reference regulator profiles were developed for scoring and comparison purposes. The subjective judgment of experts was incorporated in the modeling process. The “Regulatory Governance Scorecard” is calculated for the Portuguese regulatory agencies to illustrate the model outputs and demonstrate its potential usefulness.