The economic argument for licensing is consumers’ difficulty verifying expertise.
Occupational licensing involves government-imposed requirements for practitioners in different professions, or what critics call government permission slips to work. Despite a lack of evidence of benefits to consumers, licensing has been proliferating across Alabama and America, with the percentage of workers covered rising from 5 to over 20 percent.
A new report from the Alabama Policy Institute and the Archbridge Institute offers some potential reforms.
Not-So Sweet Home Alabama: How Licensing Holds Back the Yellowhammer State is written by Dr. Edward Timmons and Conor Norris of Saint Francis University. Dr. Timmons has extensively researched licensing, including a 2019 case study of Alabama barbers.