Examining a cross-section of 175 countries, we find that a greater number of steps required to open a business is associated with higher levels of income inequality. Specifically, we find that an increase of one standard deviation in the number of steps necessary to legally open a business is associated with a 1.5 percent increase in the Gini coefficient and a 5.6 percent increase in the share of income going to the top 10.0 percent of earners.

https://www.mercatus.org/system/files/McLaughlin-Regulation-Income-Inequality.pdf