Definition of deregulation
:the act or process of removing restrictions and regulations
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Recent Examples of deregulation from the Web
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President Donald Trump has lost another informal adviser from the business world: billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who gave the White House guidance on its deregulation efforts.
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The deregulation of the railroads in 1980, which allowed them to set their own rates and make deals directly with shippers, also hurt.
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Targeted infrastructure deregulation like that which has enabled the country’s freight-rail system to thrive should be the model for future policy.
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Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, issued a report Wednesday saying the deregulation push has been about rewarding corporate elites such as automakers and Wall Street firms.
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But Trump’s financial deregulation program would make a financial crisis far more likely again.
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had promised that his mix of tax cuts, deregulation and reductions in wasteful spending would spur economic growth and cure America's ailing fiscal health.
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Mr Trump’s administration is professional, ruthlessly focused on deregulation, and secretive.
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The index is up roughly 18 percent since Trump’s election, an event that unleashed a market rally on expectations of tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure spending.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deregulation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of deregulation
1963
Financial Definition of DEREGULATION
deregulation
What It Is
How It Works
The transportation industry is one of the most famous industries to feel the effects of deregulation. In 1887, Congress established the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which regulated the railroad industry. Over time, the ICC came to regulate the trucking industry as well. The ICC licensed all truck operators, and it required new entrants to prove they were "necessary for the public convenience" in order to obtain licenses. The ICC allowed established shippers to argue whether the ICC should deny a license to a new entrant. The ICC also reviewed shipping rates, dictated what products the carriers could haul, what routes they could travel, and the cities they could do business in.
The inefficiency imposed by regulation and its focus on helping companies more than consumers became very apparent once the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 deregulated the trucking industry. The number of carriers nearly doubled in the four years after the legislation, freight rates fell as much as 20% in one year, overall industry wages fell, and many inefficient companies went out of business.
A similar situation occurred in the airline industry, which was regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) until 1978. Like the ICC, the CAB issued licenses, set fares, and regulated where carriers did business. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 eliminated these constraints, and the airline industry quickly expanded in employment, miles flown, and number of passengers.
Why It Matters
Like most economic policy, deregulation is controversial. Most economists agree that deregulation lowers an industry's barriers to entry and generally increases efficiency, competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Established producers have less control over competitors in a deregulated environment. Deregulation also benefits the broader economy because it no longer requires taxpayers to support the regulatory agency's overhead.
Overall, deregulation tends to increase choices and lower prices for consumers. In some cases, however, deregulation can be damaging to consumers, especially when natural monopolies are involved (such as electric utilities or other situations with immense infrastructure or technical needs). Some also point out that the elimination of weaker competitors in a deregulated environment means the loss of jobs.
Source: Investing Answers
Learn More about deregulation
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Spanish Central: Translation of deregulation Nglish: Translation of deregulation for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about deregulation
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