The Standard Cost Model. When better regulation fights against red-tape

This chapter introduces one of the "better regulation" instruments, the Standard Cost Model (SCM), a method for measuring the administrative burdens imposed by regulation on businesses. The chapter examines the content and purposes of the SCM. It discusses some of the limits of the model and difficulties that public administrations may face in its application and provides recommendations for improving the model. It describes recent applications of the SCM, with a particular focus on the UK experience and the European Commission. It is argued that the introduction of such methodology in the Impact Assessment guidelines may have an effect on the EU "better regulation" agenda, namely shifting the regulatory pendulum to a more de-regulatory dimension.