I was published by the Mises Institute with an article titled “Regulation Corrupts.”
In India, entrepreneurs frequently face an impossible choice: comply with an enormous and contradictory body of regulations and become uncompetitive, or evade the rules and remain in business. Minimum-wage laws, taxes, licensing requirements, and labor regulations often exist mainly on paper, while their selective enforcement creates opportunities for harassment and bribery by bureaucrats.
I argue that this system does more than increase the cost of doing business. It rewards corruption, pushes conscientious people to the economic margins, and ensures that only those willing to cultivate politicians and officials can prosper. Freedom, enforceable contracts, and a reliable judiciary offer a better path to economic development and humane working conditions than still more regulation.