An accurate depiction of the development of a regulatory regime is the first step in analyzing the forces driving a regime’s evolution. This paper argues that modeling the early stages of regulation can fruitfully be approached by applying the notion of a regulatory life cycle to the area of new regulatory regimes. Drawing on the work of Bernstein, Leiss and Otway and Ravetz, the paper articulates a model of the early stages of regulatory regimes – a crucial period of development that has not yet been adequately studied. The framework, based on the nature of the tasks, issues, and techniques faced and followed by regulators immediately after ‘the regulatory moment’ or birth of a regulatory impulse, helps us to understand the range of possible variations in regulatory regimes, the factors driving their evolution and development, and the processes through which they evolve towards maturity.
