The political economy of independent regulatory agencies in Turkey

The chapter analyses transition to IRAs in Turkey from two different viewpoints. Main reasons for delegation of the regulatory discretion to IRAs are to reduce political transaction costs and to ensure a credible commitment. In this context, the first section of the chapter examines the meaning of political transaction costs and regulatory commitment in terms of independence of IRAs during delegation process of the discretion to IRAs in the Turkish experience. This section also contains lessons from the Turkish energy industries. The second section only evaluates formal independence levels of IRAs in Turkey. Thus, the chapter reveals formal independence of IRAs in Turkey and presents a comparative analysis among them. © 2010 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved