| Abstract: | Since 1985 the UK government has promoted the use of compliance cost assessment (CCA) in order to quantify the impact on business of proposed new regulations. The strategy has arisen in response to a perception that there has been a tendency to overregulate, and it currently forms part of a wider deregulation initiative. The paper reviews this development, contrasting it with the use of regulatory impact assessment in the US and examining the extent to which it encourages'rational'social regulation. The authors conclude that, while the process of regulation may have become more informed as a result of the production of cca s, the exercise is narrowly focused. As a consequence, its role in improving the rationality of the legislative process is likely to be limited. |
