The Prevalence and Effects of Occupational Licensing
Abstract
This study provides the first nation-wide analysis of the labor market implications of occupational licensing for the U.S. labor market, using data from a specially designed Gallup survey. We find that, in 2006, 29 percent of the workforce was required to hold an occupational license from a government agency, which is a higher percentage than that found in studies that rely on state-level occupational licensing data. Workers who have higher levels of education are more likely to work in jobs that require a license. Union workers and government employees are more likely to have a license requirement than are nonunion or private sector employees. Our multivariate estimates suggest that licensing has about the same quantitative impact on wages as do unions—that is about 15 percent, but unlike unions which reduce variance in wages, licensing does not significantly reduce wage dispersion for individuals in licensed jobs.Download Info
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Paper provided by Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies. in its series Working Papers with number 1092.Length:
Date of creation: Aug 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:pri:cepsud:1092
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Related research
Keywords:Other versions of this item:
- Kleiner, Morris M. & Krueger, Alan B., 2008. "The Prevalence and Effects of Occupational Licensing," IZA Discussion Papers 3675, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2008. "The Prevalence and Effects of Occupational Licensing," Working Papers 1069, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
- Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2008. "The Prevalence and Effects of Occupational Licensing," NBER Working Papers 14308, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2008-12-01 (All new papers)
References
References listed on IDEASPlease 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.:
- Shapiro, Carl, 1986. "Investment, Moral Hazard, and Occupational Licensing," Review of Economic Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 843-62, October.
- Richard B. Freeman, 1981.
"Union Wage Practices and Wage Dispersion within Establishments,"
NBER Working Papers
0752, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Richard B. Freeman, 1982. "Union wage practices and wage dispersion within establishments," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(1), pages 3-21, October.
Citations
Blog mentions
As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:- Krueger to CEA
by Adam Ozimek in Modeled Behavior on 2011-08-29 11:35:20 - Alan Krueger nominated to chair the CEA
by Tyler Cowen in Marginal Revolution on 2011-08-29 11:22:50
Cited by:
- Alan S. Blinder & Alan B. Krueger, 2009.
"Alternative Measures of Offshorability: A Survey Approach,"
Working Papers
1169, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
- Alan S. Blinder & Alan B. Krueger, 2009. "Alternative Measures of Offshorability: A Survey Approach," NBER Working Papers 15287, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- 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.
- 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.
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