Assessing Results of Regulatory Reforms

Assessing cost-savings to businesses from simplification programs: The RRC™

Regulatory Reform Results Calculator (RRC™) The RRC, created by Jacobs, Cordova & Associates to provide concrete estimates of cost-savings from regulatory reform, estimates rapidly and systematically the main economic benefits of reforming licenses, permits, formalities and administrative procedures. The RRC provides decision makers with quick, monetized estimates of the net cost savings that expect to be realized or have been realized in simplification reforms. It compares regulatory costs before and after the reforms.

The RRC was used in the Regulatory Guillotines™ in the Republic of Srpska (RS) and in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kenya to assess cost savings Through its use, the Government of the RS and of Croatia were able to estimate that the reforms achieved minimum potential savings of more than US $76 million and US $250 million in administrative fees, waiting time and opportunity costs respectively.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

Developing and sustaining a regulatory reform program is hampered by a lack of focus on monitoring and evaluation. Jacobs, Cordova & Associates has carried out detailed program evaluations and has developed quantitative evaluation methods to determine if simplification programs have paid off in lower costs to businesses. See our M&E projects here. Link to evaluation projects here

Integrating monitoring and evaluation into program design can produce better data on the gains from reform, which can play an important role in generating momentum for further and more comprehensive regulatory governance reforms.