Occupational Barriers

Laws, Licenses and the Offender's Right to Work: A Study of State Laws Restricting the Occupational

Occupational licensing reform to remove barriers to employment for people with criminal records has been taking place for decades. This...

Guild-Ridden Labor Markets: The Curious Case of Occupational Licensing

Licensing should be deregulated and certification should be used in its place whenever possible, argues the author. Delving into the...

Testing the Utility of Licensing: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Occupational Regulation

Licensing an occupation may be more motivated by increasing the wages for people that are already members of that profession through...

The Undertaker's Cut: Challenging the Rational Basis for Casket Licensure

Increasing the wages for people that are already members of a specific profession by limiting competition is more often the motivation...

Occupational Licensing and American Workers

Lower wages and higher unemployment for unlicensed workers and decreased mobility for licensed workers suggest there are large social...

A License For Protection: Why are States Regulating More and More Occupations?

The recent boom in occupational licensing has been driven in part by people who are already members of that occupation, out of a desire...

Sanctioned Unemployment: The Impact of Occupational Licensing Restrictions on Ex-Offenders

The broad discretion given to licensing boards to approve or deny licensure leads to biased and arbitrary decision-making, creating...

Credentialing Decisions and Criminal Records: A Narrative Approach

Evidence of rehabilitation and that the crime was an anomaly are the two factors most relied on by administrative law judges when...

At What Cost? State and National Estimates of the Economic Costs of Occupational Licensing

Occupational licensing costs the U.S. economy more than it’s worth. This report provides data showing how licensing costs the economy...

Fencing Out Opportunity: The Effect of Licensing Regulations on Employment

Occupational licensing hurts rather than helps employment. This report analyzes ten licensed occupations across all 50 states, ranking...

License to Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing

There little correlation between many occupational licenses and public safety. For example, cosmetology, massage therapy and barbering...

Removing Barriers to State Occupational Licenses for People with Records

The lack of evidence that formerly incarcerated people are 'riskier' hires than the average person means states should further reform...

Turning Shackles into Bootstraps: Why Occupational Licensing Reform is the Missing Piece....

States should remove the 'good character' standard for occupational licensing, as well as licensing all together for occupations that...

The Consideration of Criminal Records in Occupational Licensing

States should continue to reform their policies to reduce barriers to licensing for people with criminal records. This two-page summary...

No Bars: Unlocking the Economic Power of the Formerly Incarcerated

Occupational licensing hurts the economy and strengthens economic and social inequities by contributing to low employment rates among...

Fair Chance Licensing Reform: Opening Pathways for People with Records to Join Licensed Professions

Licensing standards that create barriers to employment for people with criminal convictions need to be reformed. This report provides a...

Occupational Licensing: A Framework for Policymakers

While licensing may be necessary for some professions, it is unnecessarily burdensome for many. This report from the Obama Administration...

Virtue and the Law: The Good Moral Character Requirement in Occupational Licensing,....

'Good moral character’ requirements for occupational licensing and immigration are both arbitrary and poorly applied. Utilizing...