The Pro-Competition Policy Reset
Remove incumbent barriers and measure practical gains for people
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 95%
The framework begins with a desired set of household and market outcomes: lower prices, higher wages, greater choice, more innovation, and stronger business formation. Leaders then examine each sector separately, mapping its barriers to entry and the institutions with authority over them. Every rule or restrictive practice is tested for a legitimate safety or economic purpose rather than presumed necessary merely because it already exists. The available response may be enforcement, rulemaking, deregulation, coordination with states, or new legislation. A central coordinating body keeps these actions aligned and gives affected stakeholders clearer rules. Success is judged through practical changes experienced by workers, consumers, and new entrants rather than by the number of policies announced.
Origin
Extracted from Masters in Business, where Brian Deese explained the Biden administration's executive-branch strategy for increasing economic competition.
Core principles
- 01Judge policy by whether it expands fair and open competition.
- 02Distinguish pro-competition action from being generically pro- or anti-business.
- 03Inspect barriers industry by industry because different markets require different tools.
- 04Coordinate authorities so separate interventions reinforce one economic strategy.
- 05Measure success through lower prices, higher wages, innovation, and reduced friction.
How to run it
- 1
Set the outcome north star
Specify how stronger competition should improve prices, wages, consumer choice, innovation, or market entry. Use outcomes that can be observed in people's daily economic lives.
Pro tip Express each goal as a practical change for a worker, household, or new entrant.
Watch out Do not treat policy activity itself as the final outcome.
- 2
Map the market and authorities
Identify where concentration or restricted choice exists and which agencies, regulators, or teams possess relevant tools. Include specialized sector authorities rather than looking only to general antitrust enforcement.
Pro tip Map both formal enforcement powers and convening influence.
Watch out A narrow institutional map can leave the strongest available tools unused.
- 3
Find incumbent-protecting barriers
Inspect regulations, contracts, standards, data practices, and licensing requirements that make entry or switching harder. Trace who benefits and how the restriction affects prices, wages, or innovation.
Pro tip Start with frictions that consumers and small businesses encounter repeatedly.
Watch out Concentration alone does not prove that every associated rule is illegitimate.
- 4
Apply the legitimacy test
Ask whether each barrier produces a genuine safety, quality, or economic benefit. If its principal effect is protecting incumbents or extracting rents, make it a reform candidate.
Pro tip Separate a rule's stated purpose from its measurable effects.
Watch out Removing a barrier without preserving legitimate safeguards can create avoidable harm.
- 5
Choose the appropriate tool
Match each barrier to enforcement, rulemaking, deregulation, state cooperation, procurement leverage, or legislation. Preserve the operational independence of enforcement bodies.
Pro tip Use existing authority first while identifying statutory gaps separately.
Watch out Do not imply that a coordinating body controls independent enforcement decisions.
- 6
Coordinate execution
Sequence actions across institutions and clarify how sector-specific measures support the shared competition strategy. Give businesses and other stakeholders consistent guidance.
Pro tip Maintain an action register with owners, dependencies, and expected outcomes.
Watch out Uncoordinated reforms can impose conflicting rules or shift a bottleneck elsewhere.
- 7
Measure practical effects
Track whether switching becomes easier, entrants gain access, prices decline, wages improve, and innovation expands. Revise interventions when the expected benefits fail to appear.
Pro tip Combine aggregate market indicators with concrete user-level frictions.
Watch out Do not claim success solely because a rule was issued or a council convened.
In the wild
A regulator finds that manufacturer restrictions prevent equipment owners from choosing independent repair providers. It tests the restrictions for legitimate safety needs, preserves necessary technical standards, and removes provisions whose main effect is locking customers into the manufacturer's service network. Independent shops can then enter and compete on price and speed.
→ Customers gain repair choices while new service businesses can enter the market.
A state coalition reviews an occupation whose licenses do not transfer across state lines. After distinguishing essential competency standards from incumbent protection, it adopts reciprocity and a streamlined verification process. Workers can move without repeating months of training while employers gain access to a wider talent pool.
→ Worker mobility improves without discarding legitimate qualification safeguards.
Common mistakes
Equating competition policy with anti-business policy
The objective is not to prevent firms from growing through innovation and successful market entry. It is to stop rules or dominant positions from insulating incumbents against competition.
Applying one remedy to every sector
Authorities and barriers differ across healthcare, labor, agriculture, communications, and technology. The framework requires sector-specific diagnosis within a coordinated strategy.
Counting actions instead of outcomes
Completing rulemakings or enforcement steps matters only if they reduce practical frictions and improve economic outcomes.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for policymakers and market designers addressing entrenched concentration across several regulated sectors.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the underlying problem is unrelated to market power or when no authority can alter the identified barrier.
From the transcript
“this is not about being pro business or anti businesses about being pro competition.”
“where the challenges, what are the tools that we have, and how could we advance the ball.”
“at the end of the day, success will be we have made those frictions easier”
From the episode
Brian Deese on Unleashing Competition (Podcast)
Brian Deese