摘要：The idea of using regulation as a policy instrument for improving economic performance in developing countries has a long, but chequered history. The term 'regulation' has been defined differently (either more narrowly or more broadly) in different contexts and at different times, but can be broadly defined as "any government measure or intervention that seeks to change the behaviour of individuals or groups" (Cabinet Office, 2000a). Given that regulation is about government actions to affect non-government agents' behaviour by establishing and applying a set of rules, it is hardly surprising that the ebb and flow in the emphasis given to the benefits or costs of regulation has paralleled the much broader shift between state- and market- based approaches to economic management and development policy. Regulation therefore, has been variously labelled 'good' or 'bad' depending on the prevailing orthodoxy in development thinking at the time.
