Because government regulations often form a connected web, the selective relaxation of some regulations needn’t result in a lower net regulatory burden. Selective deregulation can exacerbate or unleash detrimental effects of the remaining regulations. Moreover, since partial deregulation can be in the self-interest of certain interest groups, companies may lobby for it, amounting to deregulatory capture.
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Max Molden is a PhD candidate at the University of Hamburg.
