Single market non-compliance: how relevant is the institutional setting?

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of the national institutional setting in explaining Single Market non-compliance regarding non-tariff barriers in intra-EU trade. Using data on infringements to Single Market law we show that the quality of domestic institutional characteristics is relevant to explain non-compliance among EU countries. While government independence from political pressures and higher levels of representativeness and accountability reduce the propensity of member states to infringe upon Single Market laws, better regulatory quality increases the probability of non-compliance at industry level, suggesting that increases in competition may generate protectionist measures that violate Single Market law.