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Commentary By Allison Schrager

The Revenge of the Regulatory State

Economics Regulatory Policy

Regulatory-state-biden

The following chart plots the number of regulations adopted by the executive branch that were economically significant from George Washington University's Regulation Studies Center. These are the rules passed by the executive branch that had a large impact on the economy, defined as having a $100 million impact or more. The rules can include reducing regulations, like we saw the Trump administration or a more hands-on approach, as was the case in the Obama administration. The chart shows a shift in the Obama administration, which took a more hands-on approach to the economy than the other administrations (even other Democrats), at least since the 1980s. There is no data yet for the Biden administration, but if the last few months are any indication of what's to come, we may be in a new era of government. 

Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.

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