Independent regulatory agencies: Economic theory and institutional evidence

In this work we shall focus on regulatory authorities. In Great Britain the word “authority” designates both a proper regulatory agency, and a standard for profit firm. An example of the latter is the British Airport authority. However, the term “authority” is not associated in Britain with the independence from political power that in Italy is commonly implied. The autonomy of regulatory agencies, which are widespread also in the United States, have an that is limited by political power (to the point that such agencies are often called “government agencies”), and their decisions can be modified or even overturned by the Minister in charge or by Parliament. This type of agencies are found also in Italy, but we shall not include them among the “independent authorities” in this paper.