Barriers to Entry
Governments often create regulations that protect particular firms, industries, and occupations from would-be competitors. These regulations are referred to as “barriers to entry” because they keep some from entering into a market. One of the most prevalent and pervasive barriers is “occupational licensing.” The licensing of occupations is ostensibly intended to promote service quality and protect public health, but evidence suggests these laws fail to provide these benefits. More often, licensing raises the price of goods and services and locks workers out of meaningful and rewarding employment.
The research on this page delves into the effects of barriers to entry generally, with a specific focus on occupational licensing, and offers less intrusive and counterproductive methods for ensuring product quality and public health.
Latest work in Barriers to Entry
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Coronavirus and Lessons for Preparedness
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
First, Do No Harm: Three Ways That Policymakers Can Make It Easier for Healthcare Professionals to Do Their Jobs
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A Primer on Emergency Occupational Licensing Reforms for Combating COVID-19
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Outlawing Favoritism: The Economics, History, and Law of Anti-Aid Provisions in State Constitutions
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A Lose-Lose Proposition
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Colorado Occupational Licensing and Credential Portability
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Ohio Occupational Licensure and Universal Recognition
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Arizona Occupational Licensing: Barriers to Opportunity in the Grand Canyon State
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Wisconsin Occupational Licensing: Easing the Burden for Service Members, Former Service Members, and Military Spouses
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Barriers to Work in the Mountain State
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
West Virginia Occupational Licensing
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Occupational licensing reform is not a partisan issue
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Want to Help Military Families? Allow Occupation License Portability
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Tight Lending Regulations are a Wealth Subsidy
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Foreign-Trained Doctors Can Help Care for Aging Populations
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Let Surgeons Do Surgery
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Floridians Will Now Have More Access to Greater Quality, Lower Cost Health Care
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Texas Reclogs the Pipes on Occupational Licensing
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Want To Be an Eyelash Technician? You Will Need a License for that.
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What Are Landlords Good For?
Latest work in Barriers to Entry
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Coronavirus and Lessons for Preparedness
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
First, Do No Harm: Three Ways That Policymakers Can Make It Easier for Healthcare Professionals to Do Their Jobs
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
A Primer on Emergency Occupational Licensing Reforms for Combating COVID-19
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Outlawing Favoritism: The Economics, History, and Law of Anti-Aid Provisions in State Constitutions
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Lose-Lose Proposition
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Colorado Occupational Licensing and Credential Portability
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Ohio Occupational Licensure and Universal Recognition
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Arizona Occupational Licensing: Barriers to Opportunity in the Grand Canyon State
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Wisconsin Occupational Licensing: Easing the Burden for Service Members, Former Service Members, and Military Spouses
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Barriers to Work in the Mountain State
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
West Virginia Occupational Licensing
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Occupational licensing reform is not a partisan issue
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Want to Help Military Families? Allow Occupation License Portability
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Tight Lending Regulations are a Wealth Subsidy
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Foreign-Trained Doctors Can Help Care for Aging Populations
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Let Surgeons Do Surgery
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Floridians Will Now Have More Access to Greater Quality, Lower Cost Health Care
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Texas Reclogs the Pipes on Occupational Licensing
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Want To Be an Eyelash Technician? You Will Need a License for that.
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What Are Landlords Good For?
Latest work in Barriers to Entry
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
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- | Working Papers Working Papers
Restoring Vision to Consumers and Competition to the Marketplace
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- | Working Papers Working Papers
The US Health Provider Workforce
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Journal Articles Journal Articles
Barriers to Prosperity
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The State of Occupational Licensure in Nebraska
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Untangling Hair Braider Deregulation in Virginia
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The State of Occupational Licensure in Missouri
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The Impact of Regulations and Institutional Quality on Entrepreneurship
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
POLICY SPOTLIGHT: Occupational Licensing and the Poor and Disadvantaged
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The State of Occupational Licensure: Arkansas
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Barriers to Entry in the Healthcare Markets
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The State of Occupational Licensure in Wisconsin
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Beyond Physicians
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
A Snapshot of Missouri Regulation in 2017
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The State of Occupational Licensure in Illinois
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Scope-of-Practice Laws
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
A Snapshot of Illinois Regulation in 2017
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
A Snapshot of Virginia Regulation in 2016
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Research Papers Research Papers
2016 Edition: Healthcare Openness and Access Project
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Working Papers Working Papers
CLIA Waiver Pharmacy Growth
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Do Certificate-of-Need Laws Limit Spending?
Latest work in Barriers to Entry
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Reforming Craft Brewing Laws in Nebraska
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Rethinking TNC Regulations: Enshrining the Past Forestalls the Future
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The Regulation of Taxi and Limousine Industries in Pennsylvania
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Comments regarding Occupational Licensing in North Carolina
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Auto Distribution: Current Issues and Future Trends Federal Trade Commission Workshop
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Testimony on South Carolina's Certificate-of-Need Laws
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The Sharing Economy: Issues Facing Platforms, Participants, and Regulators
- | Regulation Regulation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Occupational Licensing Gone Wild? Why Licensing Is Not Always the Answer
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations-Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description
Latest work in Barriers to Entry
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Arizona Makes the Right Move on Occupational Licensing
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What Ship Captains Can Teach Us about Barriers to Entrepreneurialism
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Mark Zuckerberg Confirms: Regulation Would Be Good for Facebook
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What Do Business Leaders Think about Government Favoritism?
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Three Ways States Can Revamp Healthcare
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Could Occupational Licensure Scare Away Entrepreneurship and Innovation?
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Higher Minimum Wages Impact Employment
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Thoughts on FTC Economic Liberty Task Force Report & Occupational Licensing Reform
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Non-Partisan Way to Help Workers and Consumers
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Argentinian Decline and Texas Licensing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Tax Reform 2.0: Solving the 'Skills Gap' with One Weird Trick
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- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Lemonade Stands and Permits
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- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Forget Facebook, Policymakers Should Think About the Future
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- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Who Opposes Sports Betting?
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- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Your New Jersey Hair Braider Has to Take 1,200 Hours of Classes, and None Are about Braiding
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- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Helping Displaced Workers without Corporate Welfare
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Why Mark Zuckerberg's Congressional Hearings Were a Victory for Facebook
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Are Google and Facebook Monopolies?
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Licensing, Justice Reform Will Aid Virginia’s Poorest
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary