Reforming Occupational Licensing Policies
2015-03
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Reforming Occupational Licensing Policies
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2015-03
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Abstract
Occupational licensing has been among the fastest growing labor market institutions in the United States since World War II. The
evidence from the economics literature suggests that licensing has had an important influence on wage determination, benefits,
employment, and prices in ways that impose net costs on society with little improvement to service quality, health, and safety. To
improve occupational licensing practices, I propose four specific reforms. First, state agencies would make use of cost-benefit analysis
to determine whether requests for additional occupational licensing requirements are warranted. Second, the federal government
would promote the determination and adoption of best-practice models through financial incentives and better information. Third,
state licensing standards would allow workers to move across state lines with a minimal cost for retraining or residency requirements.
Fourth, where politically feasible, certain occupations that are licensed would be reclassified to a system of certification or no
regulation. If federal, state, and local governments were to undertake these proposals, evidence suggests that employment in these
regulated occupations would grow, consumer access to goods and services would expand, and prices would fall.
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Kleiner, Morris M.. (2015). Reforming Occupational Licensing Policies. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/190817.
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