Improving the legal quality of regulations, whether by revising them individually or rebuilding whole sections, can help economic and social performance, as well as go-vernance. Not surprisingly, regulatory reform is attracting more and more interest as governments volunteer themselves for review under the OECD's Regulatory Reform Programme. The aim is to assess individual countries against international best practices and to suggest targetted action for reform. The United States and the Netherlands have recently been reviewed. A report on Japan was published in April, and another on Mexico is due shortly.

Please visit http://www.oecd.org/subject/regreform/

©OECD Observer No 217/218, Summer 1999