Saturday, June 18, 2016

Rent seekers

A useful paragraph in the IMF numbers round-up on Brexit, dealing with the claim that Britain outside the EU would be a lightly regulated business paradise --

Where the UK scores relatively poorly is in domestically-controlled regulations, such as the complexity of regulatory procedures and licensing and permits systems that are not required by the EU. For example, analysts often point to the UK’s planning regulations and other restrictions on housing construction as being some of the UK’s most economically harmful restrictions—regulations that are wholly under domestic control. 

The report is too polite to speculate about the overlap between the voting bloc that keeps these restrictions intact and prospective Leave voters. 

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