A common feature of contemporary political systems is the increasing amount of delegation from governments to non-majoritarian institutions. Governments may decide to delegate authority to such institutions for reasons relating to credible commitments, political uncertainty, and policy complexity. This article focuses on Independent Administrative Authorities (Autorit��s administratives ind��pendantes) in France. We demonstrate that these institutions enjoy varying degree of independence. We find that the degree of independence varies as a function of two factors: the need to make a credible commitment in areas subject to market opening and the complexity of policy in particular areas.