When it comes to occupational regulation, policymakers may see their options as action or inaction: licensing or no licensing. In fact, policymakers can choose from a plethora of alternatives that provide the purported benefits of licensing, without the downsides. This paper discusses 10 less restrictive alternatives to licensing that can protect consumers as well as or better than licensing, without shutting people out of work. It makes the case that before imposing, or continuing to impose, any occupational regulation, policymakers should demand systematic, empirical evidence of harm—and then select the least restrictive and most appropriate option to provide the desired consumer protections.
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Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Food Freedom | Private Property
Small business owners sue to strike down Jacksonville regulations effectively banning food trucks from city
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Economic Liberty
Woman challenges Arizona city's ban on feeding people for "charitable purposes"
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Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Entrepreneur Fined $1,000 for Using Public Information to Draw Lines on Maps Files Federal Lawsuit Against California
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Related Reports

License to Work 2
License to Work, 2nd Edition Published in 2017, this is an older edition of IJ’s landmark License to Work report. You can download the report and read about data improvements we made between the first…

Occupational Licensing
License to Work 1
License to Work, 1st Edition Published in 2010, this is an older edition of IJ’s landmark License to Work report. You can download the report here, but please see the 3rd and current edition…