Deregulation; Law, Economics And Politics

Deregulation contrasts with government regulations. The former fosters the liberalisation of market structures while under the latter, the ownership and control of public utilities are retained by the government. Deregulation measures involve the reduction or elimination of governmental regulations of business enterprises; the measures are underscored by the will of the government to allow economic development to be determined by the market mechanism.  The deregulation and privatisation movement began in the 1980s in the United Kingdom under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. Since then, the notion of deregulation has not only spread to High Income Countries but also to Middle and Low Income Countries. It will thus be trite to say that deregulation exercises have become a global phenomenon. The thrust for a change in the Nigerian economy has seen the country embrace the concept of deregulation and the drift towards deregulation has been more practical since the last decade. The era of deregulation of the telecommunication sector in Nigeria for example has brought more benefits to the Nigerian economy and its peoples than the previous era of government regulation.