This paper constructs several objective indicators of regulatory intensity in the context of the Spanish decentralization since 1978. Our aim is to develop a quantitative measure of the levels of regulatory intensity set by different regions in Spain. The dynamic nature of the decentralization process requires that we take into account the initial institutional framework for decentralization and the successive transfers of powers to the regions. As a result, we obtain a series of variables that measure regulatory intensity across Spanish regions in the period 1978-2009.
This paper constructs several objective indicators of regulatory intensity in the context of the Spanish decentralization since 1978. Our aim is to develop a quantitative measure of the levels of regulatory intensity set by different regions in Spain. The dynamic nature of the decentralization process requires that we take into account the initial institutional framework for decentralization and the successive transfers of powers to the regions. As a result, we obtain a series of variables that measure regulatory intensity across Spanish regions in the period 1978-2009.
In this paper, I reflect about a recent regulatory trend concerning the enforcement of labour standards through contract compliance clauses and other requirements of public contracts tendered under European Union public procurement law. On the back of recent developments in the case law of the European Court of Justice regarding cross-border situations of procurement-based enforcement of labour standards, notably in the re-examination of the Rüffert case in both the Bundesdruckerei and RegioPost cases, I reflect on this phenomenon from the perspective of regulatory substitution. In setting out a basic framework to assess regulatory substitution, I hypothesise that most of the difficulties evidenced by the case law stem from the transfer of labour regulation goals to the public procurement sphere. I then aim to test this hypothesis by means of an analysis of labour policyoriented mechanisms included in the 2014 revision of the EU public procurement rules. I then go on to critically assess the fitness for purpose of the procurement mechanisms from the perspective of contributing to the enforcement of labour standards. I ultimately conclude that, even though the 2014 Public Procurement Package has galvanised the trend of regulatory substitution whereby employment and social goals have now become part and parcel of public procurement strategy in the EU, a close examination of the legal mechanisms created by Directive 2014/24/EU shows that this regulatory substitution is both limited and highly dependent on the implementation (and investment of significant administrative resources) at Member State level.
This piece reflects on the role of public procurement regulation in the face of a situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, generating an extremely urgent need for the public sector to buy additional supplies and equipment. Counterintuitively, at a time of heightened public expenditure, public procurement rules are ‘deactivated’. That does not mean that unusual procurement mechanisms are not ‘activated’, though, as the example of the EU’s Joint Procurement Agreement shows. It also does not mean that ‘reactivating’ public procurement regulation will not present challenges, some of which deserve careful consideration.
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