Driving priorities in risk-based regulation:what’s the problem?

Both risk-based and problem-centered regulatory techniques emphasise giving priority to matters that are serious and important. In the case of both risks and problems, however, issues of identification, selection and prioritisation involve inescapably normative and political choices. It is important, therefore, to understand why regulators target the risks and problems that they do; which factors drive such choices; and how regulation is affected when these factors pull in similar or opposite directions. Such an understanding provides a fresh framework for thinking about the challenges of both risk-based and problem-centered regulation. The analysis presented here does not oppose either risk-based or problem-centered regulation, but it illustrates why neither is as straightforward as simple calls for ‘better regulation’ may suggest, and it proposes ways in which key aspects of those challenges may be addressed.