Home Regulatory Impact Assessment in Mexico: A Story of Interest Groups Pressure
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Regulatory Impact Assessment in Mexico: A Story of Interest Groups Pressure

  • Renny Reyes , Alessandro Romano EMAIL logo and Cecilia Emma Sottilotta
Published/Copyright: February 17, 2015

Abstract

Over the last decade, many developing countries have adopted the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). Despite the promise of bringing economic development, the results have been largely disappointing. The conventional wisdom is that the lack of administrative capacity and data availability are the two main reasons behind this failure. However, an in-depth analysis of two recent high-impact RIAs performed by Mexican authorities reveals that regulatory capture might be an additional and significant problem. In both cases, RIAs appear as merely instrumental to confer a scientific aura to the political rhetoric supporting a regulation that favored a specific interest group. In this vein, absent a sufficiently strong system of checks and balances, a greater sophistication of government officials might paradoxically reduce accountability and transparency. In the last section, we briefly sketch a possible reform aimed at preventing this risk, namely the introduction of a supranational non-binding process of appeal against especially relevant RIAs.

References

Adler, M.D. and E.A.Posner, New Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006).10.2307/j.ctv1nzfgqtSearch in Google Scholar

Alesina, A. and D.Rodrik, Distributive Politics and Economic Growth, 109The Quarterly Journal of Economics (1994).10.2307/2118470Search in Google Scholar

Arana Araya, I., Informal Institutions and Horizontal Accountability: Protocols in the Chilean Budgetary Process, 55Latin American Politics and Society (2013).10.1111/j.1548-2456.2013.00215.xSearch in Google Scholar

Armijo, L.E., “Balance Sheet or Ballot Box?: Incentives to Privatize in Emerging Democracies”, in P.Oxhorn and P.Starr (eds.), The Problematic Relationship between Economic and Political Liberalization (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1999).Search in Google Scholar

Armijo, L.E. and P.Faucher, We Have A “Consensus”: Explaining Political Support for Market Reforms in Latin America, 44Latin American Politics and Society (2002).10.2307/3177093Search in Google Scholar

Armour, J., “Enforcement Strategies in UK Corporate Governance: A Roadmap and Empirical Assessment”, in A.M.Pacces (ed.), The Law and Economics of Corporate Governance: Changing Perspectives (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2010).Search in Google Scholar

Atkinson, M. and W.D.Coleman, Strong States and Weak States: Sectoral Policy Networks in Advanced Capitalist Economies, 19British Journal of Political Science (1989).10.1017/S0007123400005317Search in Google Scholar

Bebchuk, L.A., The Pursuit of a Bigger Pie: Can Everyone Expect a Bigger Slice, 8Hofstra Law Review (1980).Search in Google Scholar

Buchanan, J.M. and G.Tullock, The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1965).Search in Google Scholar

Bunge, M., Causality: The Place of the Causal Principle in Modern Science (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959).Search in Google Scholar

Calabresi, G. and P.Bobbitt, Tragic Choices (New York: Norton, 1978).Search in Google Scholar

Calabresi, G., A Common Law for the Age of Statutes (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985).Search in Google Scholar

Calabresi, G., The Pointlessness of Pareto: Carrying Coase Further, 100The Yale Law Journal (1991).10.2307/796691Search in Google Scholar

COFEMER, Guideline ‘E’ for High Impact Regulatory Impact Assessments (2010).Search in Google Scholar

COFEMER, Guidelines for Regulatory Impact Assessment (2012a), available at: <http://www.cofemer.gob.mx/APF/Manual_MIR.doc>, accessed 20 November 2014.Search in Google Scholar

COFEMER, Final Decision on the RIA Presented for the Draft Project of the ‘Declaratoria por la que se regula el uso de la marca agave en Tequila, Mezcal y Bacanora’ (2012b), available at: <http://207.248.177.30/expediente/v99/_COFEME.12.0300.pdf>, accessed 20 November 2014.Search in Google Scholar

COFEMER, Regulatory Impact Evaluation Guide. Vol. I. Methods and Methodology (2014), p. 62, available at: <http://www.cofemermir.gob.mx/mir/documentos/Ingles_Guide_Vol%201_26112013.pdf>, accessed 20 November 2014.Search in Google Scholar

Coleman, J.L., Efficiency, Exchange, and Auction: Philosophic Aspects of the Economic Approach to Law, 68California Law Review (1980).10.2307/3479985Search in Google Scholar

Coleman, J.L., Efficiency, Utility, and Wealth Maximization, 8Hofstra Law Review (1980).Search in Google Scholar

Coleman, J.L., The Grounds of Welfare: Fairness Versus Welfare. By Louis Kaplow & Steven Shavell, 112The Yale Law Journal (2003).10.2307/3657451Search in Google Scholar

Correa-Cabrera, G., Mexico’s Economic Dilemmas and Democratic Challenges in an Era of Reform, 54Latin American Politics and Society (2012).10.1111/j.1548-2456.2012.00177.xSearch in Google Scholar

Cortell, A.P. and S.Peterson, “Dutiful Agents, Rogue Actors, or Both? Staffing, Voting Rules, and Slack in the WHO and WTO”, in D.G.Hawkins, D.A.Lake, D.L.Nielson and M.J.Tierney (eds.), Delegation and Agency in International Organization (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).10.1017/CBO9780511491368.010Search in Google Scholar

Dam, K., The Law-Growth Nexus: The Rule of Law and Economic Development (Washington, DC: Brookings, 2006).Search in Google Scholar

ElDiario, The Prohibition Is “Shut Down”, Not the Sale of Analog Televisions”, Mexico (2014), available at: http://diario.mx/Local/2014-01-15_aff0cee0/apagan-la-prohibicion-no-la-venta-de-tvs-analogas/>, accessed 25 October 2014.Search in Google Scholar

Franklin, B., Letter to Joseph Priestley, Reprinted in The Benjamin Franklin Sampler (New York: Fawcett, 1956).Search in Google Scholar

Graham, J.D., Saving Lives through Administrative Law and Economics, 157University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2008).Search in Google Scholar

A.Grant and G.K.Wilson (eds.), The Consequences of the Global Financial Crisis: The Rhetoric of Reform and Regulation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199641987.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Gupta, S., H.Davoodi and R.Alonso-Terme, Does Corruption Affect Income Inequality and Poverty?, 3Economics of Governance (2002).10.1007/s101010100039Search in Google Scholar

Hiriart, Y., D.Martimort and J.Pouyet, The Public Management of Risk: Separating Ex Ante and Ex Post Monitors, 94Journal Public Economics (2010).10.2139/ssrn.1718467Search in Google Scholar

Hodgson, G.M., Meanings of Methodological Individualism, 14Journal of Economic Methodology (2007).10.1080/13501780701394094Search in Google Scholar

Hovenkamp, H., Limits of Preference-Based Legal Policy, 89Northwestern University Law Review (1994).Search in Google Scholar

(IMPI) Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property, High Impact Assessment for the Draft Project of the ‘Declaratoria por la que se Regula el Uso de la Marca Agave en Tequila, Mezcal y Bacanora’ (2011), available at: <http://www.cofemermir.gob.mx/mir/crLecAnte.asp?submitid=24738>, accessed 15 October 2014.Search in Google Scholar

(ITESM) Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Preferencias del Consumidor de Tequila y las bebidas de Agave – Reporte de Investigación, Chapter 4 (2010), available at: <http://www.cofemermir.gob.mx/mir/uploadtests/24724.177.59.18.Estudio%20ITESM%20Reporte%20Final%20(2).pdf>, accessed 15 October 2014.Search in Google Scholar

Kahneman, D., Maps of Bounded Rationality: Psychology for Behavioral Economics, 93The American Economic Review (2003).10.1257/000282803322655392Search in Google Scholar

Kaplow, L. and S.Shavell, Fairness Versus Welfare (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009).10.2307/j.ctv1khdr5tSearch in Google Scholar

Karapanou, V. and L.T.Visscher, Towards a Better Assessment of Pain and Suffering Damages, 1Journal of European Tort Law (2010).10.1515/JETL.2010.48Search in Google Scholar

Kirkpatrick, C.H., D.Parker and Y.F.Zhang, Regulatory Impact Assessment in Developing and Transition Economies: A Survey of Current Practice and Recommendation for Further Development, Working Paper Series no. 83. Centre on Regulation and Competition, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester (2003).Search in Google Scholar

Kirkpatrick, C.H. and D.Parker, Regulatory Impact Assessment and Regulatory Governance in Developing Countries, 24Public Administration and Development (2004).10.1002/pad.310Search in Google Scholar

Laffont, J. and Tirole, J., The Politics of Government Decision-Making: a Theory of Regulatory Capture, 106Quarterly Journal of Economics (1991).10.2307/2937958Search in Google Scholar

Lee, Y., Reclaiming Development in the World Trading System (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).Search in Google Scholar

Lee, Y., Scholars Out of Self-Estrangement: Call for a New Analytical Model for Law and Development (Unpublished manuscript).Search in Google Scholar

Luanratana, W. and A.Romano, Stare Decisis in the WTO: Myth, Dream, or a Siren’s Song?, 48Journal of World Trade (2014).Search in Google Scholar

Maggio, G., A.Romano and A.Troisi, The Legal Origin of Income Inequality, 7Law and Development Review (2014).10.2139/ssrn.2426109Search in Google Scholar

Mainwaring, S. and C.Welna, Democratic Accountability in Latin America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).10.1093/0199256373.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Mariscal, J., Telecommunications Reform in Mexico from a Comparative Perspective, 46Latin American Politics and Society (2004).10.1353/lap.2004.0034Search in Google Scholar

Marrero, G.A. and J.G.Rodríguez, Inequality of Opportunity and Growth, 104Journal of Development Economics (2013).10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.05.004Search in Google Scholar

Matsushita, M., T.J.Schoenbaum and P.C.Mavroidis, The World Trade Organization: Law, Practice, and Policy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).Search in Google Scholar

Ministry of Communications and Transportation of Mexico, Program of Work for the Transition to Digital Television (in Spanish, TDT) (2014), available at: <http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5344585&fecha=13/05/2014>, accessed 25 November 2014.Search in Google Scholar

Ministry of Economy of Mexico, Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-192-SCFI/SCT1-2013, Telecomunicaciones – Aparatos de Televisión y Decodificadores – Especificaciones (2013a).Search in Google Scholar

Ministry of Economy of Mexico, High Impact RIA with Competition and Risk Analysis on the draft project of the ‘Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-192-SCFI/SCT1-2013, Telecomunicaciones – Aparatos de Televisión y Decodificadores – Especificaciones (2013b), available at: <http://www.cofemermir.gob.mx/mir/crLecAnte.asp?submitid=30044>, accessed 20 October 2014.Search in Google Scholar

O’Donnell, G., Polyarchies and the (Un)Rule of Law in Latin America. Paper Presented at the Meeting of the Latin American Studies Association (1998).Search in Google Scholar

OECD. Mexico: Key Issues and Policies, OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (OECD Publishing, 2013), available at: <http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/industry-and-services/mexico-key-issues-and-policies_9789264187030-en>, accessed 30 November 2014.Search in Google Scholar

Peci, A. and F.Sobral, Regulatory Impact Assessment: How Political and Organizational Forces Influence Its Diffusion in a Developing Country, 5Regulation & Governance (2011).10.1111/j.1748-5991.2011.01105.xSearch in Google Scholar

Posner, E.A., Controlling Agencies with Cost-Benefit Analysis A Positive Political Theory Perspective, 68UCLA Law Review (2001).10.2139/ssrn.265655Search in Google Scholar

Posner, R.A., The Economics of Justice (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983).Search in Google Scholar

Remmer, K.L., The Politics of Neoliberal Economic Reform in South America, 1980–1994, 33Studies in Comparative International Development (1998).10.1007/BF02687406Search in Google Scholar

Renda, A., Law and Economics in the RIA World: Improving the Use of Economic Analysis in Public Policy and Legislation (Cambridge: Intersentia, 2011).Search in Google Scholar

Rodrigo, D., Regulatory Impact Analysis in OECD Countries Challenges for Developing Countries (OECD Publishing, 2005).Search in Google Scholar

Romano, A., God’s Dice: The Law in a Probabilistic World (2014), available at: <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2436191>.10.2139/ssrn.2436191Search in Google Scholar

Simonson, R., “Mexican Distillers Fight Over the Word ‘Agave’”. The New York Times, February 10, 2012, available at: <http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/mexican-distillers-fight-over-the-word-agave/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0>, accessed 25 October 2014.Search in Google Scholar

Trubek, D. and A.Santos, The New Law and Economic Development: A Critical Appraisal (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).10.1017/CBO9780511754425Search in Google Scholar

Weyland, K., Neopopulism and Neoliberalism in Latin America: Unexpected Affinities, 31Studies in Comparative International Development (1996).10.1007/BF02738987Search in Google Scholar

Weiner, J.B.“The Diffusion of Regulatory Oversight”, in M.A.Livermore and R.L.Revesz (eds.) The Globalization of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Policy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199934386.003.0008Search in Google Scholar

World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2013–2014 (2013), available at: <http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-14.pdf>.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2015-2-17
Published in Print: 2015-6-1

©2015 Law and Development Review

Downloaded on 9.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ldr-2014-0030/html
Scroll to top button