Editing Deregulation (section)

{{short description|Remove or reduce state regulations}}
[[File:France Telecom Wellington NZ.jpg|thumb|250px|As a result of deregulation of telecommunications in New Zealand, France Télécom (now [[Orange S.A.|Orange]]) operated phone booths in [[Wellington]] and across New Zealand in the 2000s.]]
'''Deregulation''' is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere.  It is the repeal of governmental [[Economic regulation|regulation of the economy]].  It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of new trends in economic thinking about the inefficiencies of government regulation, and the risk that regulatory agencies would be controlled by the regulated industry to its benefit, and thereby hurt consumers and the wider economy. Economic regulations were promoted during the [[Gilded Age]], in which [[progressive era|progressive]] reforms were claimed as necessary to limit [[externalities]] like corporate abuse, unsafe [[child labor]], [[monopolization]], and [[pollution]], and to mitigate boom and bust cycles. Around the late 1970s, such reforms were deemed burdensome on economic growth and many politicians espousing [[neoliberalism]] started promoting deregulation.

The stated rationale for deregulation is often that fewer and simpler regulations will lead to raised levels of competitiveness, therefore higher [[Productivity (economics)|productivity]], more efficiency and lower prices overall. Opposition to deregulation may involve apprehension regarding [[pollution|environmental pollution]]<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0921-8009(94)90017-5|title=An ecological-economic assessment of deregulation of international commerce under GATT|journal=Ecological Economics|volume=9|pages=73–92|year=1994|last1=Daly|first1=Herman|last2=Goodland|first2=Robert|issue=1 |bibcode=1994EcoEc...9...73D }}</ref> and environmental quality standards (such as the removal of regulations on hazardous materials), financial uncertainty, and [[Competition law|constraining monopolies]].

[[Regulatory reform]] is a parallel development alongside deregulation. Regulatory reform refers to organized and ongoing programs to review regulations with a view to minimizing, simplifying, and making them more cost effective.  Such efforts, given impetus by the [[Regulatory Flexibility Act]] of 1980, are embodied in the United States Office of Management and Budget's [[Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs]], and the United Kingdom's [[Better Regulation Commission]]. [[Cost–benefit analysis]] is frequently used in such reviews. In addition, there have been regulatory innovations, usually suggested by economists, such as [[emissions trading]].

Deregulation can be distinguished from [[privatization]], which transfers state-owned businesses to the [[private sector]].