Unabhängige staatliche Institutionen: Funktionalität und demokratische Legitimation

Independent authorities have a number of advantages compared to politically dependent institutions, namely because of their superior specific qualification and performace, long-run incentive structure, influence of interest groups being less effective, and other reasons. Concerns are often related to the assertion of unsufficient democratic legitimation. But this argument does not hold, if the independent authority is evaluated and put under the control of another expert independent authority with democratic legitimation. A large number of governmental institutions should be redesigned to become independent authorities.