Nir Kosti wins 2023 Giandomenico Majone Prize

The 2023 Majone Prize Committee consisted of Judith van Erp (chair), Colin Scott and Camilo Ignacio González Becerra. The Committee was pleased to receive nine submissions for consideration. Eight of these submissions were single-authored. The jury would like to suggest to the ECPR that in light of the increasing practice of collaborative work in academia, the preference for a single-authored paper might be reconsidered, while maintaining the focus on early career researchers.

The Committee has decided to award the Giandomenico Majone Prize to Nir Kosti, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for his paper ‘More Discretion, More Regulation? Policy Implementation through Regulation in the United Kingdom, 1991-2022’.

The study focuses on the execution of policies through implementing regulations. When legislators delegate authority to executive bodies, not all policies are translated into regulations and therefore implemented. This paper asks under what conditions delegated power actually becomes regulation. The research suggests that delegation which minimizes discretion – especially in terms of the obligation to regulate and the inclusion of content provisions that specify what regulations must, may and must not do – increases the likelihood of implementation. The paper analyses nearly 45,000 statutory instruments or regulations in the United Kingdom over a period of thirty years, that are analyzed through innovative computational methodologies and Natural Language Processing.

The jury appreciated the clear question, demarcation and conceptualication of the paper. It is a well-delineated contribution, convincingly presented. The data collection and analysis are impressive and sophisticated. The paper’s orientation to regulation as an instrument for implementing and enforcing policies brings us back to the core of the regulatory state and its effectiveness. Effective policy implementation is of paramount importance given the complex and urgent challenges our governments face. The paper offers solid evidence about legislative characteristics that determine policy effectiveness, and enhances our understanding of the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government. It offers clear implications for legislative quality and design. This policy-relevant paper is a well deserved winner of the Majone Prize.

The Committee would also like to commend the relevant, convincing and well executed paper ‘The Perceived Legitimacy of Regulatory Agencies: Expertise-Based or Reputation-Sourced?’, authored by Dovilė Rimkutė and Honorata Mazepus.