Occupational Licensing and Job Mobility in the U.S.

Though occupational licensing serves various public policy objectives, policymakers have become increasingly concerned with the potential costs due to the long-term decline in business dynamics, lower job and interstate mobility, and sluggish productivity growth.

A new working paper from the OECD sheds fresh light on the link between occupational licensing and job mobility: through an in-depth analysis of Job-to-Job flows data from the U.S. Census Bureau, new evidence suggests that more extensive and stricter occupational licensing leads to lower levels of intra- and inter-state job mobility.

How does occupational licensing affect labor market outcomes? How does the licensing model in the U.S. differ from those in other OECD countries? What barriers are faced by people trying to (re)enter the labor market and climb the job ladder? How does occupational licensing affect earnings, productivity growth and competition?

Join us for a briefing and roundtable discussion with senior economists from the OECD to discuss these questions and more.

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Agenda

11:45 a.m. – 12.00 p.m. -- Arrival and registration.

12:00 p.m. – 12.05 p.m. -- Welcome and introductions by OECD Chief Economist Laurence Boone.

12:05 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. -- Presentation of Working Paper 'Occupational Licensing and Job Mobility in the United States 'by Mikkel Hermansen, Economist, U.S. Desk, OECD Economics Department.

12.30 p.m. - 1.00 p.m. -- Moderated discussion and Q&A with Eric Morath, Labor Economics & Policy Reporter at The Wall Street Journal.