Even the good spectrum proposals, however, may be hampered by overly prescriptive rules based on scarcity.

FORBES: Economic Abundance, Real and Imagined

The idea that an entire continent of 500 million people can be ruled by detailed and prescriptive rules like this one (and the entirety of life is being tangled up in similar rules) strikes me as being beyond the bounds of sensibility.

FORBES: Prunes Are Not Laxatives: Official European Union Ruling

"We agree with the FCC that the goal is to keep all customers happy, but we are concerned that prescriptive and costly rules that limit the creative offerings and competitive nature of the industry may threaten to offset these positive trends, " the group said in a statement e-mailed to CNN.

CNN: U.S. aims to regulate mobile 'bill shock'

America's rules are much more prescriptive and numerous.

ECONOMIST: This time in Europe

There is no serious discussion of the idea that a low leverage ratio should be the first line of defence, and that the Basel risk-weighting rules should be less prescriptive and more in the form of guidance.

BBC: If banks are treated as naughty kids...

Mr. Cameron rightly argues that EU regulations are often overly-prescriptive and that, by extending into areas such as employment rules not strictly necessary for the maintenance of a single market, have become a growth-sapping burden on European business.

WSJ: Two Ways to Look at Sovereignty Issue