Revolving Door
Updated 2026-08-05
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The revolving door refers to the frequent interchange between public roles and the private sector: officials leave to take well-paid positions in the industries they regulated, and industry executives enter government. The flow brings expertise, but it also creates conflicts of interest, since an official's expectations about future employment shape present decisions. Where the pattern is dense, the regulator may come to represent the regulated, a condition known as regulatory capture.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Follow the future: ask where an official expects to work after leaving, not only where they sit now. - Map the pipeline: trace the hiring flows between a regulator and the industry it oversees. - Design separation: add cooling-off periods and disclosure rules to break the incentive.
Anchor fast decisions
A decision-maker who expects to be employed later by the regulated industry internalizes that industry's preferences, because lenient decisions raise the value of the future job. The incentive operates without any explicit bargain, which is why disclosure alone rarely removes it. Cooling-off periods and conflict rules work by lengthening the gap between the decision and its payoff.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolving_doorverified
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