Occupational Licensing, Antitrust, and Innovation 8-9-2017

Federalist Society Event Audio

Regulatory Transparency Project

Every state has laws or regulations that require individuals seeking to offer a certain service to the public first to obtain approval from the state before they may operate in the state. Recent years have seen a significant proliferation of such laws, with less than 5% of jobs in the American economy requiring a license in the 1950’s to between 25-30% today. Although licensing in some occupations may benefit the public by reducing information asymmetry and/or ensuring a minimum quality level for a particular service, the significant growth in the number of occupations governed by some form of licensing requirements poses a potential threat to competition and consumer welfare. Our panel of experts will discuss these important issues.

This event took place at Crowell & Moring in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2017.

Featuring:

• Hon. Maureen Ohlhausen, Acting Chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
• James Cooper, Associate Professor, Scalia Law School at George Mason University
• Sarah Oxenham Allen, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Moderator: Koren W. Wong-Ervin, Director, Global Antitrust Institute, Scalia Law School at George Mason University
• Moderator: Lisa Kimmel, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP

As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.