Quality of state control and regulation from the perspective of citizens and businesses: major trends

Abstract

The article presents the author’s approach to evaluating the quality (validity, efficiency, and effectiveness) of state control and regulation from the perspective of citizens and private business, based on the results of sociological research conducted by RANEPA in 2017-2021. According to citizens, along with some positive trends (the decrease in the frequency of informal payments during inspections and the business costs for interaction with state supervision authorities), the level of security for legally protected values remains low, and the impact of state control and supervisory activities to minimize risks is quite limited. According to the private business assessment, the overall regulatory burden related to the implementation of mandatory legal requirements is not decreasing. In addition, there are no positive trends in the evaluation of adequacy of the established mandatory requirements to the risks of harm in the relevant areas of regulation, as well as the practical implementation of legal provisions. In the current situation, the validity, effectiveness, and efficiency of state control and regulation need to be further improved. The results of the study indicate the need to adopt special measures aimed at improving the quality of state regulation and control. The author speaks of the need to transform the system of state control (supervision) into the system of specific mechanisms and institutions to safeguard legally protected values in the interests of citizens. The article provides recommendations for possible directions of such a transformation.