Legitimacy and Accountability of Independent Regulatory Agencies: A Critical Review

This article reviews the literature that deals with the puzzle of legitimizing regulatory governance, paying special attention to the accountability of independent regulatory agencies. The discussionbegins by presenting conventional arguments regarding the democratic deficit of the regulatory state. Then, two alternative sources of legitimacy are presented: the positive evaluation of regulatory performance by citizens (that is, the substantial component of what Majone calls non-majoritarian legitimacy); and the existing approaches to ensuring agency accountability (the procedural component). The last section offers some insights concerning new forms of accountability, namely with reference to the establishment and ongoing consolidation of formal and informal networks of regulators.