Stages of Occupational Regulation: Analysis of Case Studies.

• Author: Timmons, Edward
• Position: Book review

* Stages of Occupational Regulation: Analysis of Case Studies

By Morris M. Kleiner

Kalamazoo, Mich.: W. E. Upjohn Institute, 2013.

Pp. xviii, 289. $20 paperback.

Occupational regulation has significantly grown in breadth and scope over the past several decades in the United States. The White House has taken notice-recently releasing a report documenting the costs and benefits of occupational licensing (U.S. Department of the Treasury, Council of Economic Advisors, and U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Licensing: A Framework for Policymakers [Washington, D.C.: White House, July 2015], at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/ files/docs/licensing_report_final_nonembargo.pdf). No researcher has done more to shed light on and bring attention to the effects of this important labor-market institution than Morris Kleiner. In his latest work, Stages of Occupational Regulation, Kleiner presents case studies of seven different occupations that have varying degrees of occupational regulation. As more states begin to regulate entry into particular professions with occupational licensing laws, the effects are likely to differ, and this is precisely what Kleiner illustrates.

Occupational regulation is often separated into three distinct levels of restriction. Licensing laws, the most onerous of the three, make it illegal for an individual to practice in a profession without first meeting certain requirements (such as passing an exam or completing a specified amount of schooling). Certification laws do not restrict entry but instead protect titles: individuals are barred from using specific titles (for example, "certified financial analyst") without first completing a set of entry requirements; they are free to practice in the profession if they don't complete these requirements, but only if they do not use the protected title. Registration laws maintain a list of professionals that is made available to the public and is the least-restrictive form of occupational regulation.

In this book, Kleiner presents a very careful and comprehensive empirical examination of the effects of licensing on seven professions. Although numerous regression results are presented and discussed, readers whose eyes glaze over when they are presented with t-statistics can easily gloss over these results and still learn a great deal about the effects of occupational regulation. A recurring theme is how occupational licensing parallels unionization. Kleiner points out the...