Insights from Firm-Level Data on Price Regulation Around the World

Overview & Synopsis

This Policy brief presents novel cross-country, firm-level evidence on the incidence and characteristics of price regulations around the world. Using data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES) covering 103 economies - the first comparable global measure of how firms experience price regulations - the brief shows that price regulations remain widespread, particularly in lower-income countries, state-involved firms, and essential service sectors. Price regulation is high in concentrated markets, decreases sharply as competition increases, and rises again in highly competitive markets, suggesting that governments may intervene both to curb monopolistic power and to stabilize prices in highly fragmented markets. These patterns indicate where price regulations are most prevalent and how they relate to market structure, providing a foundation for further analysis on how regulation affects firm performance and innovation, and more refined data-driven reforms.