Occasional one-off papers, published by the RPI, that do not fit into any particular series.

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The EEA Agreement: the key to a simplified Brexit process?

The UK is currently a member of the European Economic Area and is likely to be able to continue membership if it wishes. Its treaty rights under the EEA afford the UK a considerable degree of control over the post-Brexit outcome. Continued membership can be viewed as a 'interim measure' that would, in one step, meet most of the Leave agenda, whilst allowing time for reflection on longer-term issues.

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STREAMLINING REGULATORY AND COMPETITION APPEALS

In 2012, supported by a secretariat at the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and by Dr Chris Decker, then of the Regulatory Policy Institute, Oxford, we conducted a review for the Australian federal and state governments of the Limited Merits Review regime (the “LMR”) in Australia for appeals of energy network decisions made by the relevant regulator. The LMR regime had been introduced in 2008 with an intention to streamline appeals procedures. Our Review extended over a six month period and was based upon: written submissions, mostly in response to two ‘Issues Papers’ (consultation documents) that we published; an extensive series of meetings we held with interested parties, including consumer representative bodies, companies, regulators and government departments; detailed analysis of the substance of the individual cases that had passed through the new system; a study of appeals systems in overseas jurisdictions; and a study of the role and scope of Australian administrative tribunals in reviewing other types of administrative decisions ‘on the merits’ . In consequence, we collected a considerable body of evidence.

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Innovation, competition and de-politicised regulation: the only way to bring down the cost of renewables?

Scotsman conference, The economics of renewables: will green energy leave Scotland in the red? Edinburgh, 13 December 2011

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Understanding the economic rationale for legal services regulation – A collection of essays

Last year we took the decision to take a step back from the existing regulatory structures and consider the underlying purpose of regulation of legal services, the legal services professions and the legal services market. We commissioned Chris Decker and George Yarrow from the Regulatory Policy Institute to write a report summarising what economics in particular can teach us. This report was never intended to be the last word on the subject, but we hoped that it might spur debate and lead to greater academic interest, both in and beyond law schools, in the topic of legal services regulation. We are publishing this report, together with this collection of essays which provide responses from a variety of perspectives, at a fascinating time in the development of the regulation in legal services, both in England and Wales and indeed globally.

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