IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/reggov/v12y2018i3p395-412.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Credible commitment without independent regulatory agent: Evidence from the Security Council's United Nations Compensation Commission

Author

Listed:
  • Manuel Becker
  • Thomas Dörfler
  • Thomas Gehring

Abstract

Credible commitment problems arise whenever decisions made according to short‐term incentives undermine long‐term policy goals. While political actors can credibly commit themselves to their long‐term policy goals by delegating decisions to independent regulatory agencies, the member states of international institutions rarely sacrifice control over regulatory decisions. Against the backdrop of the United Nations Compensation Commission established by the Security Council to settle claims on damage from the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, we present an institutional arrangement that promises to credibly commit member states to their previously defined interests without excluding them from the decision process. It separates the stages of rulemaking and rule application, and is reinforced by conditional agenda‐setting of an advisory body. We probe the theoretical claim with evidence from a unique data set that shows that the Commission settled compensation claims in a remarkably consistent way. The arrangement provides a blueprint for comparable regulatory tasks in many areas of international, European, or domestic politics, in which independent regulation is not feasible.

Suggested Citation

  • Manuel Becker & Thomas Dörfler & Thomas Gehring, 2018. "Credible commitment without independent regulatory agent: Evidence from the Security Council's United Nations Compensation Commission," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 395-412, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:12:y:2018:i:3:p:395-412
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12195
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12195
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rego.12195?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keefer, Philip & Stasavage, David, 2002. "Checks and Balances, Private Information, and the Credibility of Monetary Commitments," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 751-774, October.
    2. Voeten, Erik, 2005. "The Political Origins of the UN Security Council's Ability to Legitimize the Use of Force," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(3), pages 527-557, July.
    3. Young, Oran R., 1989. "The politics of international regime formation: managing natural resources and the environment," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(3), pages 349-375, July.
    4. Giandomenico Majone, 2001. "Two Logics of Delegation," European Union Politics, , vol. 2(1), pages 103-122, February.
    5. Vreeland,James Raymond & Dreher,Axel, 2014. "The Political Economy of the United Nations Security Council," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521740067.
    6. Fearon, James D., 1998. "Bargaining, Enforcement, and International Cooperation," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 269-305, April.
    7. Sugden, Robert & Zamarron, Ignacio E., 2006. "Finding the key: The riddle of focal points," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 609-621, October.
    8. Snidal, Duncan, 1985. "Coordination versus Prisoners' Dilemma: Implications for International Cooperation and Regimes," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(4), pages 923-942, December.
    9. Paul K. Huth & Sarah E. Croco & Benjamin J. Appel, 2013. "Bringing Law to the Table: Legal Claims, Focal Points, and the Settlement of Territorial Disputes Since 1945," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(1), pages 90-103, January.
    10. ELGIE, ROBERT & McMENAMIN, IAIN, 2005. "Credible Commitment, Political Uncertainty or Policy Complexity? Explaining Variations in the Independence of Non-majoritarian Institutions in France," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 531-548, July.
    11. Keefer, Philip & Stasavage, David, 2003. "The Limits of Delegation: Veto Players, Central Bank Independence, and the Credibility of Monetary Policy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(3), pages 407-423, August.
    12. Nielson, Daniel L. & Tierney, Michael J., 2003. "Delegation to International Organizations: Agency Theory and World Bank Environmental Reform," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(2), pages 241-276, April.
    13. Papke, Leslie E & Wooldridge, Jeffrey M, 1996. "Econometric Methods for Fractional Response Variables with an Application to 401(K) Plan Participation Rates," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(6), pages 619-632, Nov.-Dec..
    14. Koremenos, Barbara & Lipson, Charles & Snidal, Duncan, 2001. "The Rational Design of International Institutions," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(4), pages 761-799, October.
    15. Copelovitch,Mark S., 2010. "The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521143585, September.
    16. Koop, Christel, 2011. "Explaining the Accountability of Independent Agencies: The Importance of Political Salience," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(2), pages 209-234, August.
    17. Copelovitch,Mark S., 2010. "The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521194334, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Randall Stone, 2013. "Informal governance in international organizations: Introduction to the special issue," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 121-136, June.
    2. Daniel L. Nielson & Bradley Parks & Michael J. Tierney, 2017. "International organizations and development finance: Introduction to the special issue," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 157-169, June.
    3. Yoram Z. Haftel & Alexander Thompson, 2006. "The Independence of International Organizations," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 50(2), pages 253-275, April.
    4. Mattia Guidi, 2015. "The Impact of Independence on Regulatory Outcomes: the Case of EU Competition Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 1195-1213, November.
    5. Daniel Nielson, 2013. "Mark Copelovitch. 2010. The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy: Banks, bonds, and bailouts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 117-120, March.
    6. Thomas Gehring & Benjamin Faude, 2014. "A theory of emerging order within institutional complexes: How competition among regulatory international institutions leads to institutional adaptation and division of labor," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 471-498, December.
    7. William N. Kring & William W. Grimes, 2019. "Leaving the Nest: The Rise of Regional Financial Arrangements and the Future of Global Governance," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 50(1), pages 72-95, January.
    8. William N. Kring & Kevin P. Gallagher, 2019. "Strengthening the Foundations? Alternative Institutions for Finance and Development," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 50(1), pages 3-23, January.
    9. Liam Clegg, 2012. "Global governance behind closed doors: The IMF boardroom, the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, and the intersection of material power and norm stabilisation in global politics," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 285-308, September.
    10. Manuela Moschella & Luca Pinto, 2022. "The multi‐agencies dilemma of delegation: Why do policymakers choose one or multiple agencies for financial regulation?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 1250-1264, October.
    11. Lauren L. Ferry & Alexandra O. Zeitz, 2024. "The power of having powerful friends: Evidence from a new dataset of IMF negotiating missions, 1985-2020," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 411-442, September.
    12. Jeffrey Chwieroth, 2013. "“The silent revolution:” How the staff exercise informal governance over IMF lending," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 265-290, June.
    13. Jeffrey M. Chwieroth, 2014. "Controlling Capital: The International Monetary Fund and Transformative Incremental Change from Within International Organisations," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 445-469, May.
    14. Thomas Sommerer & Theresa Squatrito & Jonas Tallberg & Magnus Lundgren, 2022. "Decision-making in international organizations: institutional design and performance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 815-845, October.
    15. Jamus Jerome Lim, 2021. "The limits of central bank independence for inflation performance," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 309-335, March.
    16. Gabriele Spilker & Tobias Böhmelt, 2013. "The impact of preferential trade agreements on governmental repression revisited," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 343-361, September.
    17. Ali Burak Güven, 2012. "The IMF, the World Bank, and the Global Economic Crisis: Exploring Paradigm Continuity," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(4), pages 869-898, July.
    18. Jeffry Frieden & Stefanie Walter, 2019. "Analyzing inter-state negotiations in the Eurozone crisis and beyond," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(1), pages 134-151, March.
    19. Axel Dreher & Valentin F. Lang & B. Peter Rosendorff & James Raymond Vreeland, 2018. "Buying Votes and International Organizations: The Dirty Work-Hypothesis," CESifo Working Paper Series 7329, CESifo.
    20. Chris Hanretty & Christel Koop, 2013. "Shall the law set them free? The formal and actual independence of regulatory agencies," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(2), pages 195-214, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:12:y:2018:i:3:p:395-412. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-5991 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.