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- Title
THE PRUDENT REGULATOR: POLITICS, INDEPENDENCE, ETHICS, AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST.
- Authors
Beecher, Janice A.
- Abstract
The concept of prudence is central to the theory and practice of public utility regulation, a hallowed standard of review by which utility behaviors and decisions are judged. The concept of prudence might as well be applied to the institution of regulation itself and those responsible for its endurance. Regulation is, by nature and necessity a political process, but by design, it works best with a substantial degree of independence and when regulators are deeply committed to the ethical performance of their charge. The prudent regulator considers their own behavior, not in narrow terms of technical compliance with standards of conduct, but in broader terms of institutional sustainability. The price of imprudence is paid not only by those whose impropriety violates the public's trust, but by the very institutions they serve. Adopting an institutional perspective, this review advances the concept of the prudent regulator by examining the intricately related and largely inseparable concepts of politics, independence, ethics, and the enduring imperative of regulation in the public interest.
- Subjects
PUBLIC utilities policy; PUBLIC utility laws; PUBLIC interest; POLITICAL planning -- Social aspects; SUSTAINABILITY &; society
- Publication
Energy Law Journal, 2020, Vol 41, Issue 2, p285
- ISSN
0270-9163
- Publication type
Article