HomeServicesBlogDictionariesContactSpanish Course
← Back to search

Meaning of regulatory capture | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

The situation where a regulatory agency, created by government to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate the affected industry or sector.

countable, uncountable

Examples

“This process, known as “'regulatory capture,” turns regulators from watchdogs into lapdogs. You don't have to look far to see regulatory capture in action. Securities and Exchange Commission officials are often accused of ignoring warnings about fraud, stifling investigations, even helping miscreants avoid paying big fines or going to jail.”
“The problem is regulatory capture. We need to want new companies to build these things, even if incumbents don’t like it, even if only to force the incumbents to build these things. And the problem is will. We need to build these things.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

Learn this word in context

See regulatory capture used in real conversations inside our free language course.

Start Free Course