Sharing Economy

Advocates of government regulation have a list of reasons why the free market may fail to live up to the textbook ideal of a perfectly competitive industry. Markets, for example, might be monopolized. They might entail negative externalities like pollution. Or they might suffer from “asymmetric information,” leaving uninformed customers dependent on the honesty of unknown sellers.

Despite the conventional wisdom common on both the Left and the Right, regulations are not universally anti-business. Often, regulations are anti-some-business and pro-other-business. Moreover, though they are typically characterized as pro-consumer, many regulations actually limit consumers' options and raise their prices.