The European regulatory state and global public policy: micro-institutions, macro-influence

Across a broad range of sectors, Europe is increasingly shaping global public policy. Existing research stressing the importance of market size for international regulatory influence cannot satisfactorily account for this. We contend that the rise of the regulatory state within Europe has significant international implications, augmenting Europe's ability to shape global market rules. The article develops an institutional explanation of regulatory influence stressing domestic regulatory capacity. An analysis of two hotly contested transatlantic policy fields – data privacy and financial market regulation – provides a first test of the argument.