Delegation versus Control: A Comparison of Reform Patterns and Diffusion Channels in Latin American Regulatory Agencies

Abstract Regulation is a policy instrument that governments use to achieve their goals. This is affected by the delegation and control schemes to which independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) are subject. The article compares how countries evolved following the introduction of IRAs in the early 1990s in the telecommunications, gas, and electricity sectors in Latin America. It develops a model based on the logics of delegation and diffusion channels to determine which patterns are encountered in the region. It was found that, in the three sectors, control has increased more than delegation, and this has followed mainly a sectoral diffusion pattern.