Occupational credentials are typically not portable across geography. Using policy reforms by U.S. states, we show that the limited portability of occupational licenses constrains labor market activity and geographic mobility of licensed individuals. After states implement universal recognition,...

In 2018, Idaho became the first state to grant prescriptive authority to pharmacists in the United States for a limited range of medications related to minor conditions. We examine the effects of this reform on access to care for Medicare beneficiaries prescribed albuterol sulfate (a drug to...

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the trends for crime and STDs after the passage of massage therapist licensing. In 1977, Texas passed a law permitting county-level licensing laws for massage therapists, which was soon followed by a statewide licensing requirement in 1985. This early massage...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to document the changes in low- and moderate-income occupational licensing over time. Design/methodology/approach: Using US state level data, the authors document the rise in occupational licensing for low- and moderate-income occupations over the 1993-2012...

The pandemic of COVID-19 has created a significant strain on the healthcare system in the United States. As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to spread, these numbers are only expected to increase, and with that so does the potential to overwhelm the US healthcare system.American...

We use a newly produced data set on growth in occupational licensing of low-income occupations to estimate the relationship between growth in occupational licensing and intergenerational mobility. Our empirical results suggest growth in state licensing is associated with a 1.6% to 6.2% reduction...

Occupational licensing directly affects nearly 30 percent of U.S. workers today and continues to grow in density and scope. In this article, we identify and analyze those rare instances when occupational licensing laws have been eliminated — what we refer to as “de-licensing.” We also...