The proposed working group intends to focus on the issue of regulation at local level of services like waste, water, transport, local energy networks, public assets, sport facilities, welfare in NISPAcee countries where the transition from the planned economy sets peculiar challenges to the relationship between local government and markets.

The Working Group intends to promote exchange of information amongst different Countries of the NISPAcee area. Members are expected to:

- share data and information – thanks to specific templates already developed within LORENET project (Local Regulation Network) – on the regulatory framework of specific local public services in the NISPAcee area, for comparison amongst the NISPAcee member Countries and with other Countries;

- identify development patterns in local regulation and the main challenges faced in terms of regulatory framework design and its implementation;

- identify the main weaknesses in terms of information endowment, capacity, expertise, faced by local public administrations and local regulatory agencies;

- explain how the local context (e.g., features of local politics and societal structure) affects the working and performance of local regulation;

- analyze the players involved in local regulation, the incentives that lead their decisions, their relations in order to outline possible design for reforms

Contributions from different areas of expertise are particularly welcome, and in particular: economics, industrial economics, law, sociology.