Testing the utility of a licensing policy: Evidence from a field experiment

This study examines hypothesized benefits associated with occupational licensing in one long-regulated industry in Louisiana—floristry—in order to determine to what extent licensing results in theorized benefits that might justify the costs associated with licensure systems. Results indicate the regulation appears not to result in a statistically significant difference in quality of product. Moreover, florist-judges, whether licensed or not, appeared consistent in how they rated 50 floral arrangements from randomly chosen floral retailers.