An effective competition law and policy regime, welfare maximising sector regulation and an enabling investment regime are necessary for the optimisation of consumer welfare. These subjects are dealt with under the rubric of ‘regulation’.

In implementing projects in its various programme areas in developing and least developed countries, CUTS has developed and institutionalised a ‘bottom up’methodology for civil society to work together with state and other non-state actors. Such an approach automatically induces transparency and accountability, especially by opening up the process of developing and implementing social and economic policies to involvement by ‘key stakeholders’.

At the same time, adequate choice in consumption, product availability at prices low enough to facilitate adequate levels of consumption (adequate access), adherence of producers to satisfactory standards of quality especially safety norms, and adequate information for consumers about product characteristics are also preconditioned on the existence of a sound regulatory regimes, and optimal regulation of individual sectors that takes into account technological specificities and the nature of demand characterising each sector. Moreover, an enabling investment regime is essential for optimisation of competition over time.