A paper in the Journal of Common Market Studies, titled “Networks as ‘first best’? Network entrepreneurship and venue shifting in the establishment of the network of Euro‐Mediterranean energy regulators, considers that regulatory networks are usually considered a “second best” instrument of policy integration. “They have no decision‐making powers and unclear policy impact. Yet, regulators often play a leading role in establishing their informal networks. Why do regulators initiate networks?”
The author, Francesca Pia Vantaggiato, finds that that regulators form networks to shift the venue of policy discussion from a formal setting, dominated by policymakers, to an informal setting, where they share agenda‐setting power with their peers only. “Regulators forming networks are ‘network entrepreneurs’, for whom the establishment of the network is a policy goal in itself. Bolstered by previous positive networking experiences, network entrepreneurs consider networks a first‐best instrument of policy influence. I analyse the empirical case of the network of energy regulators of the Euro‐Mediterranean (MedReg, established in 2006) through 20 elite interviews. The findings hold implications for our understanding of informal regulatory collaboration in the EU and beyond.” Read more
A paper in the Journal of Common Market Studies, titled “Networks as ‘first best’? Network entrepreneurship and venue shifting in the establishment of the network of Euro‐Mediterranean energy regulators, considers that regulatory networks are usually considered a “second best” instrument of policy integration.
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