Steering Demand and the Quest for ‘Better Regulation'

This paper reviews the options for different regulatory approaches for addressing demand for trafficking-related services. It starts by reviewing the debate on different types of regulation, and identifies types of smart regulation that might be most pertinent to measures to address demand for trafficking-related services. We then goon to explore options for developing more innovative approaches to address demand in the area of THB. We summarise some insights from other policy areas in which smart regulation has been applied. The paper then goes on to examine the challenges in adjusting existing approaches to regulation. We question one of the underlying assumptions of literature on regulation: notably, its rationalist presuppositions about the basis on which tools can be, and are, selected. We present a number of theories about the role of national styles, framing, or cultures in shaping the construction of policy problems and responses. We argue that these frames can delimit the scope that policy-makers have for adjusting existing national or sectoral approaches. Finally, we review literature on framing and issue definition to consider the conditions under which shifts in framing or issue definition to incorporate smarter approaches might occur.