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Regressive effects of regulation

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  • Diana W. Thomas

    (Creighton University)

Abstract

Regulation of health and safety has placed an unacknowledged burden on low-income households and workers. Billions of dollars are spent every year on regulations that seek to reduce life-threatening risks that arise from auto travel, air travel, air and water pollution, food, drugs and construction; the list goes on. Today, some form of regulation affects nearly every aspect of our lives (Shleifer, in: Kessler (ed) Regulation vs. litigation: perspectives from economics and law, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2010). All of the regulatory rules ostensibly intend to make consumers or workers better off, but the cost of regulation usually is borne by the same consumers and workers, reducing their ranges of choice; it therefore crowds out private spending. The crowding out effect can be particularly detrimental for low-income households. This special issue explores the various ways in which regulation may have such regressive effects as well as the political determinants of how regulation, despite its unfavorable consequences for low-income households, may come about.

Suggested Citation

  • Diana W. Thomas, 2019. "Regressive effects of regulation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 1-10, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:180:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s11127-018-00634-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-018-00634-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Bilgrami, Anam & Cutler, Henry & Sinha, Kompal, 2021. "The impact of harmonising Australia’s workplace health and safety laws on workers compensation," GLO Discussion Paper Series 773, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Chambers, Dustin & O'Reilly, Colin, 2022. "Regulation and income inequality in the United States," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Bilgrami, A. & Cutler, H. & Sinha, K., 2021. "Do standardised workplace health and safety laws and increased enforcement activities reduce the probability of receiving workers' compensation?," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 21/08, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    5. Edward Peter Stringham, 2023. "Banking regulation got you down? The rise of fintech and cryptointermediation in Africa," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 197(3), pages 455-470, December.
    6. Mariot, Evandro Antonio Sbalcheiro & Barbas, Stela & Nunes, Rui, 2024. "Enforcing the right to health in private health systems through Judicialization what can we learn from the scoping review of the cross-national perspective?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    7. Aaron J. Staples & Dustin Chambers & Trey Malone, 2022. "How many regulations does it take to get a beer? The geography of beer regulations," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 1197-1210, October.
    8. Dustin Chambers & Colin O’Reilly, 2022. "The economic theory of regulation and inequality," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 63-78, October.
    9. Bavaro, Michele & Patriarca, Fabrizio, 2022. "Referrals, intergenerational mobility and human capital accumulation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    10. Staples, Malone & Chambers, Dustin & Malone, Trey, 2020. "The economic geography of beer regulations," Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University 307180, Center for Growth and Opportunity.
    11. Joshua C. Hall & Shishir Shakya, 2019. "Federal Regulations and U.S. Energy Sector Output," Working Papers 19-02, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    12. Michael D. Thomas & Nathan A. Miller, 2021. "Experimental Public Policy, Discovery, and Behavioral Taxation," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 36(Winter 20), pages 1-20.
    13. Kim Oosterlinck & Anne-Sophie Radermecker, 2021. "Regulation or Reputation? Evidence from the Art Market," Working Papers CEB 21-006, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regulation; Regressive effects; Income;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government

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