Occupational Licensing

Occupational licensing is the most onerous form of work regulation short of the outright banning of an activity. Licensing requires individuals with special talents, and entrepreneurial motivation to get government’s permission use their talents for the betterment of themselves and their customers. Unfortunately, government’s licensing gatekeepers have incentives to block that permission. This redistributes income and opportunity to higher income individuals, increases the cost of living, limits innovation, and leads to more licensing.

In addition to laying out general principles expanding on the tyranny of occupational licensing, 1889 Institute has published short reviews of specific licensed occupations, evaluating them for the licensing’s appropriateness in our Licensing Directory for Oklahoma.