Quantification of Performance as a Regulatory Technique: A Comparative Appraisal

The concluding chapter summarizes from a comparative law perspective the findings emerging from the research. As the contributions collected in the volume show, the turn to quantification and performance- based tools is global, but the way in which quantitative techniques permeate the law is uneven across different sectors and countries. In some domains performance-based tools are pervasive and deeply rooted in the legal system, while in others the deployment of quantification of performances is still experimental. Performance assessments also differ as to the methods used, which range from manual data collection to real- time scoring softwares, and as to the relationship existing between the actors involved – and in particular between those who measure and those who are measured. Other variances concern the effects produced by performance-based mechanisms, the degree of acceptance and resistance vis-à-vis their spread, and the awareness of their potential as regulatory tools. In light of this burgeoning variety, the chapter grounds the need for more researches on comparative legal metrics. It is important to understand more about which forms of quantitative measures are widespread, in which sectors and regions, made by whom and producing what regulatory effects. It is equally important to understand more about the legal rules that may apply to these measures, and the ways in which regulatory measurements may be controlled.