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 appetite for…
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, merger review,…
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 vaccines.
Studies
Questions for Kevin Warsh
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s choice to succeed Jerome Powell as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Warsh’s credentials…
Ten Thousand Commandments 2026
Introduction Record federal spending and record-setting regulatory burdens often march in lockstep. New spending is straightforward to track, but regulations obliging the private sector to…
The Environment, the Law, Markets, and the Path Forward
Introduction The Pharos Foundation at Jesus College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, invited me to speak at an on-campus forum in May.
Blog
America 250 election year rightsizing: Time to get things undone
The new 2026 Ten Thousand Commandments survey of federal regulation and reform landed at an awkward moment. Election cycles tend to crowd out serious thinking…
The week in regulations: Date taxes and microreactors
It was nearly a 3,000-page week in the Federal Register, roughly double the usual pace. Year-over-year inflation jumped to 3.8 percent, the worst reading since…
DOL gets flexible on overtime
The Department of Labor (DOL) will formally reverse a Biden-era rule that expanded the number of workers eligible for overtime on Friday. Courts had…
News
April PPI shows inflation still a major problem for the Fed and the economy: CEI analysis
The April Producer Price Index (PPI) shows a 1.4 percent jump, the largest increase since 2022. Inflation remains a stubborn issue for the Federal…
Inflation increases again in April, no end in sight for higher energy prices: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index for April shows inflation increased by 0.6 percent across all sectors, slightly lower than March’s 0.9 percent but still indicates…
Economy added 115,000 jobs in April, modest boost amidst economic uncertainty: CEI analysis
The jobs report for April shows 115,000 jobs were added to the economy, a modest boost compared to previous months. While unemployment remains unchanged…
Op-Eds
The Chicago Tribune
Springfield’s interchange fee ban takes a costly swipe at Illinois consumers
I have many fond memories of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, including eating out at Lou Malnati’s, visiting Chicago museums on weekends and tagging…
The Mortgage Note
Federal Court Rejects Costly Green Housing Policy
The Biden administration’s obsession with climate change has contributed to the housing affordability challenges Americans face today, and there are many harmful green policies…
Op-Eds
Sunset for Regulations, Sunrise for Opportunity
Affordability is the big concern in households across the country, yet politicians are overlooking one big solution: regulatory reform. Federal regulations drive up the price of…
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
- CEI Litigation
- Government Transparency
- Legal Studies
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