IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecaffa/v35y2015i1p3-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regulating Work: Measuring the Scope and Burden of Occupational Licensure Among Low- and Moderate-Income Occupations in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Dick M. Carpenter II
  • Lisa Knepper
  • Angela C. Erickson
  • John K. Ross

Abstract

This study examines the scope and burden of occupational licensing laws in the United States for 102 low- and moderate-income occupations. Findings indicate that the licences studied require of aspiring workers, on average, $US209 in fees, one exam, and about nine months of education and training, plus minimum grade and age levels. Data also indicate striking disparities in requirements within and between occupations and within and between states. These inconsistencies likely reflect not the relative public health and safety risks of occupations, but instead the lobbying prowess of practitioners in securing laws to shut out competition.

Suggested Citation

  • Dick M. Carpenter II & Lisa Knepper & Angela C. Erickson & John K. Ross, 2015. "Regulating Work: Measuring the Scope and Burden of Occupational Licensure Among Low- and Moderate-Income Occupations in the United States," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 3-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:35:y:2015:i:1:p:3-20
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecaf.12107
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alan B. Krueger & Morris M. Kleiner, 2008. "The Prevalence and Effects of Occupational Licensing," Working Papers 1092, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    2. 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.
    3. Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2010. "The Prevalence and Effects of Occupational Licensing," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(4), pages 676-687, December.
    4. Angrist, Joshua D. & Guryan, Jonathan, 2008. "Does teacher testing raise teacher quality? Evidence from state certification requirements," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 483-503, October.
    5. Morris M. Kleiner, 2006. "Licensing Occupations: Ensuring Quality or Restricting Competition?," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number lo.
    6. William D. White, 1978. "The Impact of Occupational Licensure of Clinical Laboratory Personnel," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 13(1), pages 91-102.
    7. Kleiner, Morris M & Kudrle, Robert T, 2000. "Does Regulation Affect Economic Outcomes? The Case of Dentistry," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 547-582, October.
    8. Jason Potts, 2009. "Open Occupations – Why Work Should Be Free," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 71-76, March.
    9. A. Frank Adams & John D. Jackson & Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., 2002. "Occupational Licensing in a "Competitive" Labor Market: The Case of Cosmetology," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 23(2), pages 261-278, April.
    10. Morris M. Kleiner & Robert S. Gay & Karen Greene, 1982. "Licensing, Migration, And Earnings: Some Empirical Insights1," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 1(3), pages 510-522, February.
    11. John Jacob & Dennis Murray, 2006. "Supply-side effects of the 150-hour educational requirement for CPA licensure," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 159-178, August.
    12. Linda L. Johnson & Christine Loucks, 1986. "The Effect of State Licensing Regulations on the Real Estate Brokerage Industry," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 14(4), pages 567-582, December.
    13. Charles G. Carpenter & E. Frank Stephenson, 2006. "The 150-Hour Rule as a Barrier to Entering Public Accountancy," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 27(1), pages 115-126, January.
    14. David Skarbek, 2008. "Occupational Licensing and Asymmetric Information: Post-Hurricane Evidence from Florida," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 28(1), pages 73-82, Winter.
    15. Carl Shapiro, 1986. "Investment, Moral Hazard, and Occupational Licensing," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 53(5), pages 843-862.
    16. James D. Shilling & C. F. Sirmans, 1988. "The Effects of Occupational Licensing on Complaints Against Real Estate Agents," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 3(2), pages 1-9.
    17. Maya N. Federman & David E. Harrington & Kathy J. Krynski, 2006. "The Impact of State Licensing Regulations on Low-Skilled Immigrants: The Case of Vietnamese Manicurists," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 237-241, May.
    18. Robert E. Jackson, 2006. "Post-Graduate Educational Requirements and Entry into the CPA Profession," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 27(1), pages 101-114, January.
    19. Gary S. Becker, 1983. "A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(3), pages 371-400.
    20. 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 1328-1346, December.
    21. Edward Timmons & Robert Thornton, 2008. "The Effects of Licensing on the Wages of Radiologic Technologists," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 333-346, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Joshua Hall & Shree B. Pokharel, 2016. "Barber Licensure and the Supply of Barber Shops: Evidence from US States," Working Papers 16-15, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    2. Dick M. Carpenter & Lisa Knepper & Kyle Sweetland & Jennifer McDonald, 2018. "The Continuing Burden of Occupational Licensing in the United States," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 380-405, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. E. Frank Stephenson & Erin E. Wendt, 2009. "Occupational Licensing: Scant Treatment in Labor Texts," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 6(2), pages 181-194, May.
    2. Bruno Deffains & Dominique Demougin, 2023. "Capitation taxes and the regulation of professional services," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 167-193, April.
    3. Brian Meehan & E. Frank Stephenson, 2020. "Reducing a Barrier to Entry: The 120/150 CPA Licensing Rule," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 382-402, December.
    4. Edward J Timmons & Anna Mills, 2018. "Bringing the Effects of Occupational Licensing into Focus: Optician Licensing in the United States," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 44(1), pages 69-83, January.
    5. Pagliero, Mario, 2013. "The impact of potential labor supply on licensing exam difficulty," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 141-152.
    6. Kaja Fredriksen, 2020. "Does occupational licensing impact incomes? A replication study for the German crafts case," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 54(1), pages 1-17, December.
    7. Chiara Farronato & Andrey Fradkin & Bradley J. Larsen & Erik Brynjolfsson, 2024. "Consumer Protection in an Online World: An Analysis of Occupational Licensing," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 549-579, July.
    8. Alicia Plemmons, 2022. "Occupational licensing's effects on firm location and employment in the United States," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 735-760, December.
    9. Marek Zapletal, 2019. "The Effects of Occupational Licensing: Evidence from Business‐Level Data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(4), pages 894-918, December.
    10. Mario Pagliero, 2019. "Occupational Licensing in the EU: Protecting Consumers or Limiting Competition?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(1), pages 137-153, August.
    11. Massimiliano Tani, 2021. "Occupational Licensing and the Skills Mismatch of Highly Educated Migrants," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 730-756, September.
    12. Marek Zapletal, 2017. "The Effects of Occupational Licensing Evidence from Detailed Business-Level Data," Working Papers 17-20, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    13. Masayuki MORIKAWA, 2017. "Occupational Licenses and Labor Market Outcomes," Discussion papers 17078, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    14. Tim R. Sass, 2015. "Licensure and Worker Quality: A Comparison of Alternative Routes to Teaching," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(1), pages 1-35.
    15. Marc T. Law & Mindy S. Marks, 2017. "The Labor-Market Effects of Occupational Licensing Laws in Nursing," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 640-661, October.
    16. Wei Chi & Morris M. Kleiner & Xiaoye Qian, 2017. "Do Occupational Regulations Increase Earnings? Evidence from China," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 351-381, April.
    17. Morikawa, Masayuki, 2018. "Occupational licenses and labor market outcomes in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 45-56.
    18. Andres Marroquin & Edward J. Timmons, 2024. "Economic values, support of labor unions, and salience of occupational licensing in the European Union," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 44(4), pages 1338-1347.
    19. Bredtmann, Julia & Otten, Sebastian & Rammert, Timo, 2024. "The effect of occupational deregulation on wage premiums," Ruhr Economic Papers 1134, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    20. Mario Pagliero & Edward Timmons, 2013. "Occupational Regulation in the European Legal Market," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 10(2), pages 243-265, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:35:y:2015:i:1:p:3-20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0265-0665 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.