Matt Yglesias, Unlicensed Barber

by Patrick Appel

Yglesias has kicked off a debate about professional licensing. Adam Ozimek delves into the literature:

Another problem with occupational licensing as a regulatory tool isthat there is a lot of evidence that it does nothing to increasequality. One strain of research shows that malpractice insurancepremiums aren't lower in states with occupational licensing, which youwould expect if licensing was increasing service quality. Otherevidence comes from research into the...