Comparing the Content of Regulatory Impact Assessments in the UK and the EU

This article examines the content of impact assessments in the European Commission and the UK for the period 2005 to 2010. We coded 477 impact assessments for the UK and 296 for the European Commission, using a detailed scorecard - adjusted to reduce the bias evidenced by previous usages of this instrument. The findings suggest that impact assessment is not a perfunctory activity in the European Union and the UK. The breadth of consultation and economic analysis has improved steadily across the years, arguably as a result of learning and regulatory oversight. The UK and the European Commission are strikingly similar on a number of dimensions (such as economic analysis and identification of costs and benefits). However, the impact assessments of the European Commission seem to pay more attention to social and environmental dimensions. The conclusions reflect on the implications of our findings for current policy discussions concerning regulatory quality and the role of regulatory oversight bodies.