Licensing One of the World’s Oldest Professions: Massage
研究了美国按摩治疗师的职业监管发展，发现州级许可使按摩师收入提高最多16.2%，但可能减少从业人数，且认证效果不显著。
In this paper, we analyze the development of occupational regulation of massage therapists in the United States as well as the effects of state licensing and certification on their earnings and numbers. Our results suggest that massage therapists working in states with licensing receive an earnings premium of as much as 16.2 percent. We also find some evidence that licensing seems to reduce the number of massage therapists. We find less convincing evidence that certification has had similar effects. We argue that, taken together, our results suggest that licensing restricts entry at the expense of consumers and that its effects are less likely to be explained by other competing factors.