Program
December 13-14, 2004
The Sutton Place Hotel
Toronto, Canada
An IPAC-SmartTape Centre roundtable on the future
of regulation and regulatory governance.
As governments learn to function in an age of more open governance, technological innovation and widespread information, "regulation" increasingly presents itself as a valuable, but not unproblematic, answer to many dilemmas in public administration. Over the past quarter century, jurisdictions have opted for a wide range of regulatory approaches, ranging from "de-regulation" to "re-regulation" and, in some cases, "hyper-regulation" where governments spawned an ever-increasing number of regulations. In the 1990s, the growth of regulation to address the new needs of governance led to interesting theories of the regulatory state. Now, approaching the mid-point of a new decade, it is time to re-examine critical ideas.
What will be the role of regulation in the state of tomorrow?
What can be regulated effectively, and at what cost? to whom?
What kind of research will help us understand that role?
What are the most efficient regulatory regimes?
Many themes will emerge in the two days of discussion. This is just a sample:
Horizontal regulation
The future of accountability in a networked state
Procedural reform and new regulatory tools
Electronic rulemaking
Democratic regulation and public participation
The role of scientific expertise and discourse
Our roundtable participants are outstanding scholars from around the world -- seven countries and four continents -- who are authorities in these and many other issues.
In this unique educational event, each presenter will be given 10-15 minutes to present an idea. Following these brief remarks, the floor will be thrown open to the roundtable for reaction and debate. The audience will then have an opportunity to contribute questions and discussion. It is expected that important themes will carry over from session to session, so that this "brainstorm" will amount to a sustained, erudite conversation.
For a fuller description of these scholars and their interests, see the roster of participants.
|
Day 1 | |
| 8:45 | Welcome and Introductions: Patrice Dutil, Director of Research, IPAC |
| 9:00-10:00 |
Dr. David Levi-Faur, School of Political Science, University of Haifa, Israel "Capitalist societies and economies are increasingly dependent on waves of regulation: international and national, within the state but also within corporations, by states over corporations but also by corporations over states. New forms of self-regulation, state-regulation and meta-regulation are on the increase in parallel to the growth of international regulatory regimes. The quantitative and qualitative dimensions of the reliance of capitalism on regulation suggest that we are living in a particular form of capitalist order, which I characterize as regulatory capitalism." |
| 10:00-10:15 | Break |
| 10:15-11:15 |
William F. Pedersen, PLLC, Washington D.C., U.S.A. "I have recently come to think that the inefficiency and counterproductive nature of government management and civil service personnel systems have a real, independent, and detrimental impact on public policy and I hope to explore that topic in my remarks." |
| 11:15-12:15 |
Jefferson Hill, Jacobs and Associates, U.S.A. "I have reviewed the regulatory reform efforts of a number of countries. Reforms that achieve sustainable and significant results take root only over a period of years, preferably through multiple political cycles. Early successes sustain political interest and build support for the longer-term. The reform process, however, is dynamic, not static, and those factors that contribute to success at one point may later act to undermine it." |
| 12:15 - 1:15 | Lunch |
| 1:15-2:15 |
Liora Salter, Osgoode Hall Law School and Environmental Studies, York University, Canada |
| 2:15-3:15 |
Prof. Steve Tombs, Sociology, Liverpool John Moores University, U.K. "I want to discuss the state of evidence regarding what works in terms of the regulation of occupational safety, though clearly aspects of this discussion will have a more general relevance in terms of regulation." |
| 3:15 - 3:30 | Break |
| 3:30 -4:30 |
Dr. Bettina Lange, Department of Law, Keele University, U.K. "I want to problematize how we actually generate knowledge about legal regulation, and regulatory law in action in particular." |
|
Day 2 | |
| 8:45 | The Conference so Far Rapporteur |
| 9:00-10:00 |
Mr. Colin Scott, Law Department and ESRC Centre for Analysis of Regulation, London School of Economics and Political Science, U.K. "I think the regulatory state literature over-states the capacity of the state for instrumental regulation. Can we develop a new and more modest form of instrumentalism or should regulatory governance be reconceptualised so as to displace the assumption that the state determines the objectives and effectiveness of contemporary regulation?" |
| 10:00-10:15 | Break |
| 10:15-11:15 |
Dr. Douglas MacDonald, Environmental Studies Program, Innis College, University of Toronto "My research interest is in the evolution of the modern Canadian environmental regulatory system since it was established in the 1960s. My focus is upon the politics of environmental regulation and in particular the political power of the regulated firm relevant to that of federal and provincial environmental regulatory agencies. For the past few years my work has focussed upon Canadian climate change policy." |
| 11:15-12:15 |
Jerrold Oppenheim, Esq., Gloucester, Mass. U.S.A. "Democratic regulation of essential network services is preferable to marketization on both practical and theoretical levels. On the practical level, democratic regulation works better: prices are lower and more stable, services more closely reflect what people need and want. On the theoretical level, including citizens in the decision-making process provides the political stability that only legitimacy can bring." |
| 12:15-1:15 | Lunch |
| 1:15 - 2:15 |
Dr. Fiona Haines, Department of Criminology, University of Melbourne, Australia |
| 2:15-3:15 |
Dr. Frans van Waarden, Policy and Organization, Utrecht University, The Netherlands |
| 3:15-3:30 | Break |
| 3:30 - 4:30 |
Dr. Stuart W. Shulman, Information Sciences and Public Administration, University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A. "I would enjoy talking about the definition and measurement of better process and outcomes in rulemaking and whether information technology is producing better anything." |
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