Regulation and Social Capital

Regulation supposedly coordinates activities to achieve outcomes such as safer hospitals, schools and neighbourhoods, economic growth, environmental sustainability, even more productive educational institutions. But what happens when ritualistic compliance takes over and regulatory objectives and procedures lose meaning? Perceptions of regulators, those regulated, and the public are analysed to answer the question: Is there something in the way authorities engage with others that reduces their regulatory effectiveness? Drawing on data from 8 regulatory hotspots, this project will look for ways of designing regulatory systems that boost social and human capital, and thereby achieve better outcomes.