Policies - Topics

What is the practical difference between a regulation and a rule a minister announces at a press conference? Can a regulator be captured by the industry it polices without anyone breaking a rule? Who actually writes a policy: ministers or civil servants or outside consultants? Why do policies get reversed so often and what does that do to public trust? Can a policy work with no enforcement mechanism behind it at all? Why do regulators choose licensing regimes over banning a harmful product outright? Why do neighbouring cities end up with completely different ordinances on the same issue? Why does the same policy produce different results in two similar regions? How much of a policy's success is really just good timing? How does a policy survive a change of government instead of being quietly dropped? Why does a policy that looked cheap on paper end up costing far more than promised? Why do governments pilot a policy in a handful of cities before going national? What really separates a policy from a law when both change how people behave? What is the difference between a policy target and a policy instrument? When should a failing policy be scrapped rather than tweaked again? Does cost-benefit review of a proposed regulation change anything or only delay it? What makes a policy evidence-based rather than just well marketed? Who actually sits on the committee that writes an industry standard? What actually changes when a government promises to cut red tape and deregulate?