Regulatory impact assessment and its challenges: An empirical analysis from Indonesia

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is a tool for improving the quality of new or modified government regulations. The absence of RIA can result in a regulation being unaccountable, non-transparent, or inconsistent. Moreover, the government will find it difficult to create policies that will benefit economic and social-welfare. In Indonesia's context, the use of RIA is just in the form of a pilot project and unsustainable both in the central and regional governments. Based on empirical research, this paper explored the existing conditions of RIA application by central and regional government in Indonesia. Moreover, this paper also analyzed the perception of the benefits and the challenges in utilizing it. The study found that RIA is still little and not optimally used in the preparation of various regulations in Indonesia both at the central and regional government levels although there are a number of benefits that would be obtained if it were used. This condition has arisen due to the lack of leader commitment, lack of apparatus knowledge of mindset and perception as well as limitations in budget, legal support, and socialization.