OECD Research on Occupational Entry Regulations and Their Effects on Productivity in Services

The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held a virtual event on March 31, 2020, to launch the OECD’s research on occupational licensing. Presenters included David Wilcox, PIIE nonresident senior fellow; Maria Koumenta, lecturer at Queen Mary University of London; and the OECD’s Giuseppe Nicoletti and Christina von Rüden.

The rise in occupational licensing regulations has been an important economic trend over past decades, but policymakers have largely overlooked it. Using novel cross-country data on a wide set of personal and professional services, the authors present evidence on the scope and implications of these regulations, with a special focus on the potential effects of ill-designed regulations for firm-level productivity.

Event materials are available on the OECD website.