Regulation = Barriers-to-Entry. Businesses accept (and secretly cheer on regulators.) People get this connection, even though it is non-intuitive on the face of

Regulation = Barriers-to-Entry. Businesses accept (and secretly cheer on regulators.) People get this connection, even though it is non-intuitive on the face of it. What is less studied are the regulators themselves. They rarely impose the kind of regulation that opens industry actions to sunshine and converts them to common knowledge. There is a substantial body of theory that shows that the price system breaks down in the face of informational asymmetry. But regulators don't go for it since it does not make them more powerful. That's human nature. And it's fine with businesses, who would prefer to answer to the One rather than the Many. Preserves barriers to entry.