Abstract
The impact of federal regulations from 1997 to 2015 on the South Dakota economy is associated with the following regressive effects: 16,751 people living in poverty, 3.6 percent higher income inequality, 34 fewer businesses annually, 433 lost jobs annually, and 7.35 percent higher prices. With regard to the volume of state-level regulations, South Dakota ranks 43 of 44 states for which data are available (where a rank of "1" is most burdensome). Regulations have unintended consequences. Recent research shows that a greater regulatory burden (as measured by the number of regulatory restrictionsof the words and phrases shall, must, may not, prohibited, and requiredin rules and regulations) is associated with increased poverty rates, higher levels of income inequality, reduced entrepreneurship, and increased consumer prices (especially for the products consumed by individuals living in poverty). Focusing specifically on South Dakota, this snapshot describes each of these regressive effects.