The primary focus of the Competitive Enterprise Institute since its founding in 1984 has been to promote deregulation. Government regulation of the economy blocks innovation and wealth creation. It also encourages damaging behavior such as rent-seeking and cronyism. Finally, it crowds out more effective forms of regulation such as market discipline.
The beneficial effects of deregulation were plain in the airline and freight rail industries. Deregulation begun in the Carter administration led to more flights at lower cost and to better rail infrastructure and much lower shipping costs. Yet, since the 1990s, successive administrations of different political stripes have piled on regulations, burdening the economy needlessly. We chart this problem every year in our Ten Thousand Commandments report.
The power of regulators now raises constitutional concerns. Regulators are often unaccountable, and their insulation from the checks and balances of the constitutional system suggests that they may in effect form a fourth branch of government. The use of guidance documents to avoid rulemaking procedures, for instance, can amount to government by decree. Deregulation is therefore essential to restore good constitutional order.
CEI advocates for both overall regulatory reform – changing the ways in which rules are made to make them more transparent and easier to remove – and for specific regulatory changes. Recent successes include recognition of our concerns in Executive Orders promoting deregulation and curtailing the use of guidance, and in the reflection of our comments in rules promulgated by agencies such as the Department of Labor and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Deregulation Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Allies
Antitrust and the Federal Trade Commission in 2023
Excerpt from Mark Jamison’s piece, Antitrust and the Federal Trade Commission in 2023 in the Washington Examiner. “Generally, Republicans have a limited…
Study
Terrible Tech Bills from the 117th Congress
Congress is considering an onslaught of legislation targeting the largest tech platforms in the U.S., addressing topics such as mobile apps, advertising,…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big news is that the Food and Drug Administration is poised to follow several other countries’ lead in approving one or more coronavirus…
Studies
Permitting Reform for a Freer and More Prosperous Nation
Contents Special Advisors The Importance of Permitting Reform Part 1: 11 Principles for Permitting Reform Part 2: Statute-by-Statute Analysis for Permitting…
Don’t Panic: A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday
As technology advances it has periodically bred the fear that progress will destroy jobs and livelihoods. History teaches that these fears are usually misplaced.
The Hidden Costs of Interchange Fee Bans
The state of Illinois risks transforming the Land of Lincoln into the Land of Patchwork Price Controls. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), passed…
Blog
The trucker shortage debate: Government recruiting more truckers won’t solve trucking challenges
When I wrote my recent piece on why Trump’s Freedom Haulers initiative won’t fix the issues facing the trucking industry that Trump exacerbated…
The week in regulations: Professional fireworks and farmer training
The 2026 Federal Register topped 50,000 pages and is on track to exceed 85,000 pages for the year. The economy lost 23,000 jobs, yet…
Section 338-tariff uncertainty highlights the knowledge problem
Last month, the Trump administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose new 50 percent tariffs against Canada. A…
News
Inflation increases slightly in July, Americans still paying higher prices: CEI analysis
July’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows inflation increased 0.1 percent across all sectors, in line with economists’ predictions. With new proposed tariffs…
Jobs numbers drop in July, May and June’s numbers revised downward: CEI analysis
The new jobs report brings bad news to the labor market, with a net loss of 23,000 jobs for July and a downward…
FDA succeeds in approving new flu vaccine: CEI comment
The FDA has approved a flu vaccine made with mRNA technology, the same technology used for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced on…
Op-Eds
Daily Wire
The EPA Needs a Power Check
Not long ago, if people predicted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would issue rules to help kill off gas-powered cars or reliable electricity sources…
National Review
Three Arguments Against Tariffs
President Trump loves tariffs. The Americans paying them don’t. A recent CNN poll found that 65 percent of Americans blame Trump’s tariffs…
National Review
Bank regulators finally back off reputational risk overreach
We are in the middle of a quiet revolution in how banks are regulated in the United States, and you can be forgiven if you…
Staff & Scholars
Kent Lassman
President and CEO
- Capitalism
- Deregulation
- Innovation
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
Iain Murray
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Trade and International
Devin Watkins
Attorney
David S. McFadden
Attorney
- Law and Litigation
- Legal Studies
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
James Broughel
Adjunct Fellow
Patricia Patnode
Research Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation