Citation

Saurwein F. Law Policy 2011; 33(3): 334-366.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, State University of New York at Buffalo, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9930.2011.00341.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The growing role of alternative modes of regulation (self‐ and co‐regulation) gives rise to major questions about regulatory choice between available governance mechanisms. Strategic policy instruments such as regulatory impact assessment guidelines (RIA) typically suggest assessing the suitability of alternative modes of regulation but they hardly specify assessment criteria. This article identifies contextual factors that should be included in any effort to predict when alternative regulatory arrangements are likely to emerge and to be effective. To demonstrate the value of the approach, it is applied to an analysis of self‐regulation in the domain of content‐rating in the audiovisual industry.