Specialization and regulation
Subtitle: the rise of professionals and the emergence of occupational licensing regulation
By: Marc T. Law, Sukkoo Kim.
Contributors: Kim, Sukkoo.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 10467; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 10467.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Occupations -- Licenses -- United States -- History.; Professions -- United States -- History.
Description: "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"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
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Mode of access: World Wide Web.