Quality of the Legislation, Regulatory Impact Assessment and Economic Reasons

Abstract

The present article focuses on the question of what value should be attributed to economic reasons in the rational justification for a legislative decision and what role law and economics can play in the ex ante and ex post evaluation of legislation. In particular the potential and limitations of using law and economics tools in the now obligatory regulatory impact assessment are indicated. It concludes with a detailed consideration of whether the cost of the various legislative options may be a sufficient reason for making policy decisions.