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Credible Commitment, Political Uncertainty or Policy Complexity? Explaining Variations in the Independence of Non-majoritarian Institutions in France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2005

ROBERT ELGIE  and
IAIN McMENAMIN
ROBERT ELGIE
Affiliation:
School of Law and Government, Dublin City University
IAIN McMENAMIN
Affiliation:
School of Law and Government, Dublin City University
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Abstract

A common feature of contemporary political systems is the increasing amount of delegation from governments to non-majoritarian institutions. Governments may decide to delegate authority to such institutions for reasons relating to credible commitments, political uncertainty and policy complexity. This article focuses on Independent Administrative Authorities (Autorités administratives indépendantes) in France. We demonstrate that these institutions enjoy varying degrees of independence. We find that the degree of independence varies as a function of two factors: the need to make a credible commitment in areas subject to market opening and the complexity of policy in particular areas.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , July 2005 , pp. 531 - 548
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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