Regulatory Policy in Colombia: Going beyond Administrative Simplification (OECD Reviews of Regulatory Reform)

Prudent macroeconomic management and recent structural reforms have helped Colombia weather the recent financial crisis remarkably well. The Government of Colombia has placed particular emphasis on simplifying formalities affecting business and citizens. In addition, a number of initiatives have been launched to make the administration more transparent and accountable vis-a-vis citizens. However, after several years in place, this approach needs to be re-shaped, in order to go deeper into the legal background of regulations. Colombia still lacks a whole-of-government policy for regulatory quality and needs to rethink the institutional set up to implement different regulatory tools in a coherent manner. It also requires the adoption of a systemic approach to challenge the reasons for and the logic behind formalities (trá́mites) and, most importantly, regulations. Furthermore, as in many other countries, the development and application of a comprehensive regulatory governance approach for sub-national governments and multi-level co-ordination are pending issues. Read more... Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 Assessment and recommendations Economic context and drivers for regulatory reform Public governance context for regulatory reform Regulatory reform developments and the main findings of the report Key recommendations ch. 2 The macroeconomic context in Colombia Charting Colombia's economic growth The contribution of regulatory reform to Colombia's economic performance Bibliography ch. 3 Regulatory reform and policies in a national context The administrative and legal environment for regulatory reform in Colombia Regulatory policies and core principles Recent and current regulatory reform initiatives International regulatory co-operation Assessment and recommendations Annex 3.A1 The 2012 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance Bibliography ch. 4 Institutions to promote regulatory reform in Colombia Institutions and mechanisms to promote regulatory reform None Organisation and governance of regulatory agencies and supervisory bodies Assessment and recommendations Annex 4.A1 Main features of oversight bodies to promote regulatory quality Annex 4.A2 Regulatory evaluation in parliamentary institutions of OECD countries Annex 4.A3 The regulatory process in Canada Annex 4.A4 The Australian Productivity Commission Bibliography ch. 5 Colombia's administrative capacities for making new regulations Administrative transparency and predictability The use of consultation for dialogue with affected groups Choice of policy instruments: Regulations and alternatives Legal review of regulatory proposals Potential for the use of Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) Assessment and recommendations Bibliography ch. 6 The management and rationalisation of existing regulations in Colombia Reviews of the stock of regulations and formalities Administrative simplification initiatives Assessment and recommendations None Annex 6.A1 Good international practices to review the regulatory stock Bibliography ch. 7 Compliance, enforcement and appeals in Colombia Approaches to regulatory enforcement and compliance Use of risk-based approaches Appealing process for regulatory decisions Assessment and recommendations Bibliography ch. 8 Ex post regulatory evaluation in Colombia Ex post evaluation of regulations Ex post evaluation of regulatory programmes and institutions Assessment and recommendations Bibliography ch. 9 Multi-level regulatory governance in Colombia The organisation of the Colombian territory and the distribution of regulatory attributions Multi-level co-ordination Challenges for and good practices in regulatory reform at the sub-national level Assessment and recommendations Annex 9.A1 Multi-level dialogue platforms in Canada and Italy Bibliography ch. 10 Regulatory reform in Barranquilla Introduction None A framework to understand multi-level regulatory governance The need for a regulatory policy in Barranquilla Institutional design in Barranquilla Multi-level co-ordination Inspections, compliance, and enforcement Administrative capacities of the local government for making new regulations Communication and transparency of regulatory decisions Administrative simplification initiatives Assessment and recommendations. Prudent macroeconomic management and recent structural reforms have helped Colombia weather the recent financial crisis remarkably well. The Government of Colombia has placed particular emphasis on simplifying formalities affecting business and citizens. In addition, a number of initiatives have been launched to make the administration more transparent and accountable vis-à-vis citizens. However, after several years in place, this approach needs to be re-shaped , in order to go deeper into the legal background of regulations. Colombia still lacks a whole-of-government policy for regulatory quality and needs to rethink the institutional set up to implement different regulatory tools in a coherent manner. It also requires the adoption of a systemic approach to challenge the reasons for and the logic behind formalities (trámites) and, most importantly, regulations. Furthermore, as in many other countries, the development and application of a comprehensive regulatory governance approach for sub-national governments and multi-level co-ordination are pending issues Foreword and Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Executive summary -- Assessment and recommendations -- The macroeconomic context in Colombia -- Regulatory reform and policies in a national context -- Institutions to promote regulatory reform in Colombia -- Colombia's administrative capacities for making new regulations -- The management and rationalisation of existing regulations in Colombia -- Compliance, enforcement and appeals in Colombia -- Ex post regulatory evaluation in Colombia -- Multi-level regulatory governance in Colombia -- Regulatory reform in Barranquilla. Annotation This review of regulatory reform in Colombia finds that Colombia needs to adopt a whole-of-government approach to regulatory quality and rethink the institutional framework