How nature of regulation and levels of trust affect each other over time: the case of financial regulation in the EU

ended

Regulation and trust are at the heart of our society. In setting regulations to govern the behavior of citizens, firms and states, policymakers make regulatory design choices that are partly grounded in trust/distrust between them and key actors in the field at hand. Yet we know surprisingly little about the iterative processes whereby the nature of regulation and trust affect each other over time. A truly interdisciplinary project bringing theoretical, methodological and empirical innovations, REGTRUST studies the bidirectional relation between the nature of regulation and levels of trust through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Focusing on the case of EU financial regulation during 2011-20, REGTRUST 1) maps the nature of EU financial regulation along two key dimensions (specificity-broadness; stability-revisability), 2) assesses statistically significant relations between such a nature and current and past levels of trust/distrust among key EU and national actors (policymakers, regulators, regulatees, consumers), and 3) traces causal mechanisms underpinning these statistically significant relations. Expertise and facilities offered by the host (UA; Prof. Verhoest) and the secondment (FBF; Prof. Carletti), together with my existing experience and talent, mutually reinforce my development as independent researcher during the fellowship. In addition, advanced training (e.g. statistics, grant writing, science communication), two-way knowledge transfer and international and intersectoral mobility allow me realizing my long-term career goals after the fellowship. A customized dissemination and communication plan ensures that the project and its results are known well beyond the academic community, while also seeking active engagement with a wider audience (e.g. workshops, class experiments). Altogether, REGTRUST at once bridges a major scientific gap, enhances my future career prospects, and makes a timely contribution to pressing societal debates.