occupational licensing

John Nothdurft and Donny Kendal present episode #135 of the In The Tank Podcast. Today’s podcast features work from the Cato Institute, the Goldwater Institute, and the Heartland Institute.

John Nothdurft and Donny Kendal present episode #125 of the In The Tank Podcast. Today’s podcast features work from the MacIver Institute, and the Maine Heritage Policy Center .

Advocates of occupational licensure argue that it protects the public interest by excluding incompetent and unethical individuals from sensitive jobs. This is certainly the case in some fields, such as health care — but in general, research reveals weak evidence that licensure confers a tangible benefit on public safety or the overall quality of services provided to consumers. What it mainly does is increase costs: Kleiner estimates that licensing increases prices 5 to 33 percent, depending on the occupation and geographic location.