I think what the GP may be getting at, with respect to building codes, is that while some of them are valid safety concerns, there&#x27;s a lot of them that can be attributed to &quot;regulatory capture&quot; -- At least here in the US, I&#x27;ve lived in one jurisdiction where residential electrical (120V 15&#x2F;20A circuits) was mostly required to be in metal conduit (EMT or better).  Elsewhere in the country, as long as it&#x27;s in a wall, type NM cable (insulated solid conductors in a plastic jacket) is acceptable in the same situation.  The only explanation I ever heard for this was that we were in the suburbs of a city where unions had historically lobbied for certain practices in electrical and plumbing work that guaranteed more labor had to be done.  (I&#x27;m not trying to make a comment about unions here, corporations are responsible for many similar situations in US law.)