Over the past three decades the Latin American region has experienced various regulatory reforms, and distinctive normative changes have been introduced in the framework, instruments, or procedures adopted by independent regulatory agencies (IRAs). While there is evidence that the establishment of an IRA positively affects regulated sector performance, little is known about the effects of these additional legal dispositions when incorporated in primary or secondary legislation. However, normative changes may shape IRAs' actual regulatory activities and the signals they send to their stakeholders, potentially influencing sectoral performance. This research traces the evolution of several instruments and procedures legally adopted by IRAs located in Latin America and comprehensively assesses the influence of these normative changes on the performance dimensions of the electricity sector. We built indexes that describe the adoption of specific legal dispositions in the region. These indexes reveal that the evolution of the normative dispositions varies in terms of extent, context, and timing of adoption. In addition, the changes are not equally or even positively associated with specific performance dimensions. While economic regulatory instruments shape many performance dimensions, “soft” procedural dispositions also play an important role in perceptions of quality in the electricity sector.

中文翻译：

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监管改革、规范变化和绩效：来自拉丁美洲电力行业的证据

在过去的三十年中，拉丁美洲地区经历了各种监管改革，独立监管机构（IRA）采用的框架、工具或程序也发生了独特的规范性变化。虽然有证据表明 IRA 的建立对受监管部门的绩效产生积极影响，但人们对这些额外法律处置纳入主要或次要立法时的影响知之甚少。然而，规范的变化可能会影响 IRA 的实际监管活动及其向利益相关者发出的信号，从而可能影响部门绩效。本研究追溯了拉丁美洲 IRA 合法采用的几种工具和程序的演变，并全面评估了这些规范变化对电力部门绩效维度的影响。我们建立了描述该地区特定法律处置情况的索引。这些指数表明，规范性倾向的演变在范围、背景和采用时间方面各不相同。此外，这些变化与特定的绩效维度并不同等甚至是正相关。虽然经济监管工具塑造了许多绩效维度，但“软”程序配置也在电力行业的质量认知中发挥着重要作用。