BEA supports the introduction of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) concept in the country
Representatives of the Government of Macedonia (GOM), businesses and chambers of commerce took part in a course on Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in Ohrid from June 21-23. The USAID Business Environment Activity organized the course in partnership with the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs to introduce participants to the array of technical and policy issues related to the use of these assessments.
The aim of RIAs is to assess the impact of newly developed laws in order to improve them and achieve better regulations. The course focused on core issues such as how to conduct RIAs, how to incorporate them into policy and legislative processes, and how they can contribute to regulatory systems that meet business and social needs.
Professor Robert Baldwin, from the London School of Economics, and consultants John Howell and Evghenia Sleptova presented the procedures, strategies and variations of RIAs, techniques for managing numerous cases as well as the reform processes during creation of regulation.
In the process of creating legislation that affects businesses, RIAs provide for open dialogue between government institutions on the one side and the business community and non-governmental organizations on the other. The stakeholders analyze both the possible positive and negative influences on the business climate in the country, the competitiveness of the country’s economy and the general risks. They also carry out a cost-benefit analysis of RIA.
RIAs have been mandatory for all laws in Macedonia since January 1st, 2009. Since then, over 200 RIAs have been carried out by the government, and Macedonia is one of the leading countries in the region in introducing and implementing the RIA concept. This course promoted dialogue between stakeholders, helping government representatives better understand what legislative changes the private sector considers necessary for businesses to be more successful and thereby to improve the economy.