Show threadPepperberryApr 13

Degrees once measured competence. Now they often measure access.
Paper first. Skill second.
When credentials become toll booths
The labour market’s paperwork arms race
Scarcity disguised as standards
What if the gate is the story?
When legitimacy costs years and debt
The hidden economics of gatekeeping
👇
https://curmudgeonlycanadian.substack.com/p/the-credential-cartel-how-degrees

#LabourMarket
#HigherEducation
#Gatekeeping
#OccupationalLicensing
#FutureOfWork
#Competence
#LabourMobility
#Workforce
#Productivity
#EducationPolicy
#Meritocracy

The Credential Cartel: How degrees replaced competence — and scarcity replaced skill

Degrees, licences, and the hidden economics of gatekeeping, where modern work rewards credentials more than competence, and legitimacy costs years, debt, and permission

Curmudgeonly Canadian
PepperberryApr 13

A new essay: The Credential Cartel.
It’s about degree inflation, licensing barriers, and how credentials increasingly function as gatekeeping devices rather than narrow tests of competence. The core question is simple: when a requirement is defended as necessary, is it actually protecting the public — or mostly protecting access?

https://curmudgeonlycanadian.substack.com/p/the-credential-cartel-how-degrees

#Credentialism
#DegreeInflation
#PublicPolicy
#Gatekeeping
#OccupationalLicensing
#Skills
#Competence
#LabourMobility
#Workforce
#Meritocracy

M. GrégoireDec 8

RE: https://flipboard.com/@cbcnews/toronto-qajtcaoiz/-/a-x5D44MnpQW6N2O2yvqjYeQ%3Aa%3A107108217-%2F0

It's good that we're making it easier for foreign doctors to stay in Canada, but what we really need is to make it easier for them to work as doctors.

#OccupationalLicensing
#CanPol #cdnpoli

ResearchBuzz: FirehoseOct 23, 2025

West Virginia University: Knee Regulatory Research Center Releases Occupational Licensing Law Research Project Database to Study U.S. Licensure in Unprecedented Depth and Detail. “Today, the Knee Regulatory Research Center—a nonpartisan research center focused on labor, health, and regulatory frontiers—announced the release of the Occupational Licensing Law Research Project Database […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/23/west-virginia-university-knee-regulatory-research-center-releases-occupational-licensing-law-research-project-database-to-study-u-s-licensure-in-unprecedented-depth-and-detail/

West Virginia University: Knee Regulatory Research Center Releases Occupational Licensing Law Research Project Database to Study U.S. Licensure in Unprecedented Depth and Detail | ResearchBuzz: Firehose

ResearchBuzz: Firehose | Individual posts from ResearchBuzz
Christopher HudsonFeb 27, 2024

How State Occupational Licenses Affect Jobs and Salaries

Mercatus Working Paper by Christos A. Makridis and Patrick McLaughlin

https://www.mercatus.org/research/working-papers/occupational-licenses-affect-jobs-salaries

#economics #econ #employment #wages #occupationallicensing #regulation #statepolitics

How State Occupational Licenses Affect Jobs and Salaries

Abstract: We present new data on regulatory restrictions across states and occupations between 2017 and 2022 to study the labor market effects of occupational licensing. First, we document three stylized facts: (a) regulatory restrictions across states and occupations have grown by nearly a factor of three since 2019, (b) increases in regulatory restrictions are concentrated in occupations with lower median hourly wages and higher within-occupation inequality, and (c) states that expanded regulatory restrictions tend to have lower Republican vote shares.

Mercatus Center
Darwyyn DeyoOct 3, 2023

I'm excited to share a new policy brief I wrote with The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy on reforms to collateral consequences for #occupationallicensing. West Virginia has long struggled with employment and labor force participation. In this report, we discuss reforms in West Virginia and how it compares with its neighbors for improving economic opportunity:

https://cardinalinstitute.com/publication/breaking-barriers-how-occupational-licensing-reform-can-help-formerly-incarcerated-individuals-reenter-the-workforce/

Breaking Barriers: How Occupational Licensing Reform Can Help Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Reenter the Workforce

Occupational licensing laws often present barriers to individuals seeking to reenter the workforce after criminal conviction. These barriers are called collateral consequences.

Cardinal Institute
Darwyyn DeyoSep 6, 2023
I am organizing at least one session on #occupationallicensing for the 2024 Public Choice meetings. If you're interested, please let me know ASAP with your paper title/abstract/authors, and I will start organizing the session details.
TuesdayBabyTuesdayAug 7, 2023
@Legit_Spaghetti This is why we need #OccupationalLicensing reform
Darwyyn DeyoJun 17, 2023
I recently spoke with The Curious Task Podcast about how #occupationallicensing increases barriers for workers. You can listen to the podcast episode here: https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-t5nu9-538037
The Curious Task | Institute for Liberal Studies

Host Alex Aragona and a rotating cast of guests explore philosophy, politics, economics, and other ideas from a classical liberal perspective.

Show threadWisconsin ExaminerFeb 8, 2023

The audit committee's 4 Democrats vote no on the next two audits, one of work-from home practices & proposals, the other of the state's #OccupationalLicensing agency.

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/02/08/democrats-balk-as-committee-assigns-audit-of-state-licensing-department/