Policyöverflöd

Policyöverflöd, literally policy surplus, is a term used in public policy discourse to describe a situation in which an excess of policy measures exceeds the capacity of public institutions to implement, monitor, and enforce them effectively. It denotes a proliferation of rules, regulations, and programs that can produce diminishing returns because they increase administrative workload, compliance costs, and uncertainty for citizens and firms. The concept is used to discuss how policy making can become less efficient when the number of active policies grows faster than the public sector's operational capacity.

Causes of policyöverflöd include fragmented governance and layered jurisdictions, overlapping mandates across agencies, and political incentives to demonstrate action; lobbying by interest groups; risk-averse cultures; and performance pressures that favor new measures over reform of existing ones. The phenomenon is often tied to multiple actors in the policy process, including central and regional authorities and various agencies.

Consequences include higher administrative burden and costs, confusion or inconsistency among rules, slowed decision making, policy drift, and reduced policy effectiveness. It can also lead to strategic behavior by agencies seeking to shield themselves behind compliance requirements rather than achieving outcomes.

Measurement and debate: researchers may use indicators such as policy density, the number of active regulations, or regulatory costs as proxies for policyöverflöd, though the concept remains contested because policy expansion can accompany improved coverage in some contexts.

Responses focus on simplification and coordination: sunset clauses, consolidation of overlapping regulations, ex-ante and ex-post evaluations, impact assessments, central coordination bodies, regulatory budgeting, and digital tools to streamline compliance and data sharing. Related concepts include regulatory burden and policy fragmentation.