WH: A slight design modifications may preserve a regulation’s benefits while providing substantially greater competition. Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com
OMB has issued guidance to agencies on developing and analyzing regulations with competition goals in mind. The guidance reflects an executive order on promoting competition in the economy, including by accounting for the effect of regulation on competition and the potential for barriers to entry.
“In some cases, a slight modification of a regulation’s design will substantially enhance competition while achieving the other regulatory benefits of the policy,” says a posting summarizing the guidance. “For example, crafting a regulation that ensures interoperability can make it easier for customers to switch to other producers’ products.”
“In other cases, slight design modifications may preserve a regulation’s benefits while providing substantially greater competition benefits (or substantially reduced competition harms). For example, changing a regulation with overly-specific requirements to a general performance standard may increase competition by allowing firms to produce products with innovative designs that meet or exceed that performance standard but have lower costs,” it says.
The guidance also addresses impacts on worker salaries, saying for example that “reforming licenses and permits so that they are not tied to a single employer or geographic location can make it easier for workers to switch jobs, reducing employers’ labor market power and increasing wages.”
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