This paper examines the effects of upgrading product quality standards on product and professional labor …-market equilibriums when both markets are regulated. The Japanese government revised the Building Standards Act in June 2007, requiring a … stricter quality standards created a quasi-rent for certified architects and owners of condominiums at a cost to consumers …

looms in the silk-weaving industry. Exploiting plant-level panel data from 20th century Japan, we demonstrate that at the …