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Digital Regulation: A New Frontier for Public Service Delivery, Surveillance and Compliance

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The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant

Abstract

This chapter examines the expanding role of digital regulation and what this means for public service practice. Digital regulation is identified as an important service reform within the broader context of digital government. Ongoing advances in the analytical and processing capacity of ICT and digital technologies has resulted in significant reform in public sector service delivery including expansive growth in the capacity to undertake surveillance of behavior and the digital monitoring of regulatory compliance. This chapter considers the opportunities and benefits that emerge from these developments in regulatory practice. With reference and analysis of examples in the transport sector, discussion explores how regulatory practice is being reshaped by the application of digital technology. Discussion considers the opportunities, benefits, and challenges of digital regulation and the extent to which such innovations may enhance or constrain regulatory development. The chapter concludes with comment on some of the critical public policy questions public servants must face when designing, implementing, and employing digitized regulation and compliance systems.

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Correspondence to Christopher K Walker .

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© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Walker, C.K. (2019). Digital Regulation: A New Frontier for Public Service Delivery, Surveillance and Compliance. In: Sullivan, H., Dickinson, H. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7_8-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7_8-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03008-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03008-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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