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Specialization and Regulation: The Rise of Professionals and the Emergence of Occupational Licensing Regulation

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Marc T. Law
Sukkoo Kim

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Abstract

This paper explores the origins and effects of occupational licensing regulation in late nineteenth and early twentieth century America. Was licensing regulation introduced to limit competition in the market for professional services at the expense of efficiency? Or was licensing adopted to reduce informational asymmetries about professional quality? To investigate these hypotheses, we analyze the determinants of licensing legislation and the effect of licensing on entry into eleven occupations. We also examine the impact of medical licensing laws on entry into the medical profession, physician earnings, mortality rates, and the incidence of medical malpractice. We believe that, at least for the Progressive Era, the evidence is more consistent with the asymmetric information hypothesis than the industry capture hypothesis.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 10467.

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Date of creation: May 2004
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10467

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J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets
K2 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Milton Friedman & Simon Kuznets, 1954. "Income from Independent Professional Practice," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number frie54-1.
  2. Robert W. Fogel, 1994. "Economic Growth, Population Theory, and Physiology: The Bearing of Long-Term Processes on the Making of Economic Policy," NBER Working Papers 4638, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Leffler, Keith B, 1978. "Physician Licensure: Competition and Monopoly in American Medicine," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 165-86, April.
  4. David Cutler & Ellen Meara, 2001. "Changes in the Age Distribution of Mortality Over the 20th Century," NBER Working Papers 8556, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Dora Costa & Richard H. Steckel, 1997. "Long-Term Trends in Health, Welfare, and Economic Growth in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Health and Welfare during Industrialization, pages 47-90 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Law, Marc T., 2003. "The Origins of State Pure Food Regulation," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(04), pages 1103-1130, December. [Downloadable!]
  7. Samuel H. Preston, 1996. "American Longevity: Past, Present, and Future," Center for Policy Research Policy Briefs 7, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University. [Downloadable!]
  8. Haas-Wilson, Deborah, 1986. "The Effect of Commercial Practice Restrictions: The Case of Optometry," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(1), pages 165-86, April.
  9. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Kessel, Reuben A, 1972. "Higher Education and the Nation's Health: A Review of the Carnegie Commission Report on Medical Education," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 115-27, April.
  11. Benham, Lee & Benham, Alexandra, 1975. "Regulating Through the Professions: A Perspective on Information Control," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(2), pages 421-47, October.
  12. Svorny, Shirley V, 1987. "Physician Licensure: A New Approach to Examining the Role of Professional Interests," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(3), pages 497-509, July.
  13. Maurizi, Alex, 1974. "Occupational Licensing and the Public Interest," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 399-413, Part I, M. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Akerlof, George A, 1970. "The Market for 'Lemons': Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Burstein, Philip L. & Cromwell, Jerry, 1985. "Relative incomes and rates of return for U.S. physicians," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 63-78, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Leland, Hayne E, 1979. "Quacks, Lemons, and Licensing: A Theory of Minimum Quality Standards," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1328-46, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Evans, R. & Guinnane, T.W., 2006. "Reputational Externality and Self-Regulation," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0628, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. [Downloadable!]
  2. Chan-Kang, Connie & Pardey, Philip G. & Smith, Vincent H., 2006. "The Evolution of Economics Clubs: 1777-2000," Staff Papers 14135, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. E. Frank Stephenson & Erin E. Wendt, 2009. "Occupational Licensing: Scant Treatment in Labor Texts," Econ Journal Watch, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, vol. 6(2), pages 181-194, May. [Downloadable!]
  4. Mario Pagliero, 2007. "The Impact of Potential Labor Supply on Licensing Exam Difficulty in the US Market for Lawyers," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 53, Collegio Carlo Alberto, revised 2009. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Schaumans, Catherine & Verboven, Frank, 2006. "Entry and Regulation - Evidence from Health Care Professions," CEPR Discussion Papers 5482, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Morris M. Kleiner & Richard M. Todd, 2009. "Mortgage Broker Regulations That Matter: Analyzing Earnings, Employment, and Outcomes for Consumers," NBER Chapters, in: Studies of Labor Market Intermediation, pages 183-231 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  7. Morris M. Kleiner & Richard M. Todd, 2007. "Mortgage Broker Regulations That Matter: Analyzing Earnings, Employment, and Outcomes for Consumers," NBER Working Papers 13684, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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