Ethics

The regulator often emphasizes ethics¹ to ensure that decisions are impersonal and impartial, and guided by values and reasoning without conflict of interest. Ethical challenges for regulators include the “revolving door,” which is said to occur when the regulator’s decisions are influenced by future employment concerns or past employment relationships. The financial interests of the regulator herself or of her family raise another ethical challenge, if these interests are related to the financial performance of the operator.

To address ethical issues, some countries adopt codes of conduct for regulators, which may restrict the regulator’s future employment, prohibit the receiving of gifts, limit the regulator’s personal investments, and restrict the regulator from being involved in decisions where the regulator cannot maintain fairness or the appearance of fairness.

Footnotes

1. See Ethics.