| Competition law |
|---|
 |
| Basic concepts |
| Anti-competitive practices |
|
| Enforcement authorities and organizations |
Occupational licensing, also called licensure, is a form of government regulation requiring a license to pursue a particular profession or vocation for compensation. It is related to occupational closure.
Some claim higher public support[citation needed] for the licensing of professions whose activities could be a health or safety threat to the public, such as practicing medicine, and doctors require occupational licenses in most developed countries. However, some jurisdictions also require licenses for a much wider range of professions, such as florists and hairdressers. Some studies find consumers are more responsive to reviews than to occupational licensing status.[1]
Licensing creates a regulatory barrier to entry into licensed occupations. Licensing advocates argue that it protects the public interest by keeping incompetent and unscrupulous individuals from working with the public. However, there is little evidence that it affects the overall quality of services provided to customers by members of the regulated occupation.[2] It can also harm consumers by raising prices and reducing innovation by new market entrants, and may slow overall economic growth.[3][1] Some occupational licensing can violate competition law due to anti-competitive practices.[4][5][1]
Alternatives to individual licensing include only requiring that at least one person on a premises be licensed to oversee unlicensed practitioners, permitting of the business overall, random health and safety inspections, general consumer protection laws, and deregulation in favor of voluntary professional certification schemes or free market mechanisms such as customer review sites.
- ^ a b c Farronato, Chiara; Fradkin, Andrey; Larsen, Bradley J.; Brynjolfsson, Erik (2024). "Consumer Protection in an Online World: An Analysis of Occupational Licensing". American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 16 (3): 549–579. doi:10.1257/app.20210716. ISSN 1945-7782.
- ^ McGrath, Lee (April 2008). "A Primer on Occupational Licensing". Institute for Justice. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ On Point: You Need A License For That
- ^ Katsuyama, Neil. "The economics of occupational licensing: Applying antitrust economics to distinguish between beneficial and anticompetitive professional licenses." S. Cal. Interdisc. LJ 19 (2009): 565.
- ^ Gellhorn, Walter. "The abuse of occupational licensing." U. CHi. l. rev. 44 (1976): 6.