Have License, Will Travel : Measuring the Effects of Universal Licensing Recognition on Mobility

Universal licensing recognition is a recent policy trend where states allow licensees from other states to receive recognition of previous credentialling to lower barriers to employment for movers. Using county-to-county migration files from the Internal Revenue Service and policy enactment dates from the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation, we find there is a sizable average increase of 11 tax filers, 22 dependents, and $1.7 million adjusted gross income tax receipts moving between border counties within non-ULR to ULR states each year after the policy change, relative to county pairs with no policy change. This effect dissipates at the state level