OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE: FROM BARBERS TO ACCOUNTANTS AND PHYSICIANS, INFLUENCES ON PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

This paper examines mandatory occupational licensure in several professions from barbers, cosmetologists, radiologic technicians, CPAs, mid-level healthcare providers, and physicians. Mandatory licensure is cited as a mechanism for serving the public interest by assuring professionals possess the requisite knowledge, skill, and competence to provide safe high quality services. Mandatory licensure also creates barriers to entry in the profession, decreases market supply, increases wages, restricts mobility, and limits consumer choice and accessibility to services. Alternative mechanisms for assuring professional competency include the use of brand names, endorsements by professional organizations, and third-party certification. Brand names play an important role in consumer choice. Those entities that have built a strong brand name associated with high quality and trustworthiness have strong incentives to maintain high levels of knowledge, skill, and competence without regulatory oversight. Endorsements by reputable non-regulatory associations such as the AMA or the AICPA which require members to demonstrated defines standards of professional practice can serve as an important source of information about practitioner competence and aid in the consumer decision-making process. Non-governmental third party entities such as Consumer Reports or U.S. News and World Reports are highly respected and utilized certifiers of competency and quality. In the absence of mandatory licensure, other credible third-party certifying institutions would rise up and provide unbiased assessments of the services provided by professionals. There are effective alternatives to mandatory licensing that service the public interest with fewer barriers to occupational practice and greater choice and less cost to the consumer.