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...

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...

The scope and scale of occupational licensing in the United States continues to grow. Our study finds that stricter optician licensing laws and laws that have been in place for longer periods of time result in higher optician earnings. On the other hand, there is little evidence that licensing...

Primary-care physicians, chiropractors, and physical therapists (PTs) may all potentially treat patients experiencing back and neck pain — a $300 billion market. In this paper, we examine how state-level changes in chiropractic scope of practice and PT direct access to patients influence the...