Systems Thinking and Regulatory Governance: A Review of the International Academic Literature

State of the Art in Regulatory Governance Research Paper – 2020.04

36 Pages Posted: 4 Mar 2020

See all articles by Jeroen van der Heijden

Jeroen van der Heijden

Victoria University of Wellington, School of Government; Australian National University, School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet)

Date Written: February 4, 2020

Abstract

This research paper presents findings from a broad scoping of the international academic literature on the use of systems thinking and systems science in regulatory governance and practice. It builds on a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles published in the top 15 journals for regulatory scholarship. The aim of the research paper is to introduce those working in a regulatory environment to the key concepts of systems thinking and systems science, and to discuss the state of the art of regulatory knowledge on these topics.

It addresses five themes:

(1) the evolution of systems thinking,

(2) examples of systems thinking from the academic literature,

(3) evidence of how systems thinking helps improving regulatory governance, and

(4) the epistemic challenges and

(5) ethical challenges that come with applying systems thinking to regulatory governance and practice.

Keywords: Systems Thinking, Systems Science, Systems Theory, Regulation, Regulatory Governance

JEL Classification: K29

Suggested Citation

van der Heijden, Jeroen, Systems Thinking and Regulatory Governance: A Review of the International Academic Literature (February 4, 2020). State of the Art in Regulatory Governance Research Paper – 2020.04, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3531381 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3531381

Jeroen Van der Heijden (Contact Author)

Victoria University of Wellington, School of Government ( email )

PO Box 600
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.victoria.ac.nz/sog/about/staff/jeroen-vanderheijden

Australian National University, School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet) ( email )

Australian National University
Building #8
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

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