Title page
Contents
Foreword 3
1. Introduction 6
2. The regulation of professions and occupations 8
2.1. Context and trends 8
2.2. Forms of professional regulation and occupational licensing 11
2.3. Policy rationales for professional regulation and occupational licensing 13
2.3.1. The public interest approach 13
2.3.2. The private interest critique 14
3. Evidence on the impact of regulation 15
3.1. Measuring regulation 15
3.2. Impact on competition 16
3.2.1. Quality 17
3.2.2. Number of professionals 18
3.2.3. Wage premiums, prices and mark-ups 21
3.3. Impact on equality and inclusion 22
3.3.1. Equality and inclusion for licensed professionals 22
3.3.2. Broader implications 23
3.4. Impact on productivity and the economy 24
3.5. Conclusions 26
4. Competition advocacy 28
4.1. Analytical framework for the analysis of regulations 28
4.1.1. Potential regulatory barriers 29
4.1.2. Policy objective and link between the regulation and the policy objective 29
4.1.3. Alternative regulations and recommendations 30
4.2. Is a licence necessary? 31
4.3. Are entry requirements proportionate? 34
4.4. Are conduct requirements proportionate? 37
4.5. Communicating and advocating for reform 40
5. Technology and the future of the professions 42
5.1. Sustaining and disruptive innovation 42
5.2. Drivers of change 43
5.3. Future models of professional work and regulation 44
6. Conclusions 47
References 48
Figure 2.1. The share of the workforce holding an occupational licence varies widely across jurisdictions 9
Figure 3.1. Productivity gains from reducing regulation 25
Figure 4.1. Number of countries regulating fees and advertising in selected professional services 37
Boxes
Box 2.1. Major policy initiatives relating to the professional regulation and occupational licensing 10
Box 3.1. The relationship between regulation and quality is not clearcut 18
Box 3.2. The Product Market Regulation (PMR) indicator 20
Box 3.3. Occupation Entry Regulations (OER) index 24
Box 4.1. The EU proportionality test before adoption of new regulations of professions 31
Box 4.2. Facilitating entry in the presence of occupational licensing 33
Box 4.3. Mandatory opinions on entry and fees: the powers of the Autorité de la Concurrence 36
Box 4.4. Conduct Regulation 39
Box 4.5. Advocating for pro-competitive reform in Portugal 41
Box 5.1. Accountancy and the introduction of spreadsheet software 44
Box 5.2. EU Study on the impact of regulatory environment on digital automation in professional services 45