Occupational licensing continues to receive attention from both researchers and policymakers. In this article we document and analyze cases of de-licensing in the US over the period 2015 to 2020. We find that the number of cases of successful de-licensing has significantly increased over that of...

Occupational licensing directly affects nearly 30 percent of U.S. workers today and continues to grow in density and scope. In this article, we identify and analyze those rare instances when occupational licensing laws have been eliminated — what we refer to as “de-licensing.” We also...