One in five American workers need a government license in order to work. While some licensing schemes might be better justified than others on plausible health and safety grounds, occupational licensing requirements often amount to nothing more than rent-seeking. That is, an effort by existing workers in a particular field seeking to limit competition by throwing up additional barriers to entry.

Government intervention should always be a matter of last resort for this reason. When the government meddles in the market, it risks all manner of deleterious consequences. From unjustly preventing people from working to driving up the cost of services to distorting the labor market, poorly justified and onerous licensing schemes can do far more harm than good.

A new report from the Archbridge

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