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Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/ the-licensing-racket-review-theres-a-board-for-that-3da68d0a 1. Arts & Culture ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Books ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Bookshelf 'The Licensing Racket' Review: There's a Board for That The restrictions and costs of professional licensing don't apply only to doctors and lawyers. Hairdressers, decorators and others must deal with them too. By Alex Tabarrok Share Resize --------------------------------------------------------------------- Listen (3 min) [im-13193996] Photo: Katie Currid/Associated Press The Venus of Willendorf, a prehistoric statuette with finely braided hair, is proof that hair braiding has been practiced for at least 30,000 years. For most of that history, no government license was required. Yet today, in many American states, hair braiders must obtain a license--and that often means hundreds of hours of cosmetology training that costs tens of thousands of dollars. The absurdities and inequities of occupational licensing have been highlighted in recent years by the Institute for Justice, which has defended individuals' rights to work without a government license and has won some cases where the government failed to provide a rational basis for regulation. Grab a Copy The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who Is Allowed to Work, and Why It Goes Wrong By Rebecca Haw Allensworth Harvard University Press 304 pages We may earn a commission when you buy products through the links on our site. Buy Book Amazon Barnes & Noble Books a Million Bookshop [im-6843803] Nearly a quarter of American workers now require a government license to work, compared with about 5% in the 1950s. Much of this increase is due to a "ratchet effect," as professional groups organize and lobby legislatures to exclude competitors. In her excellent book, "The Licensing Racket," the Vanderbilt law professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth presents plenty of cases of hair braiders, barbers and interior decorators who have been prevented from working by license restrictions that inflate prices without improving safety or quality. But Ms. Allensworth has bigger targets in mind. Most people will concede that licensing for hair braiders and interior decorators is excessive while licensing for doctors, nurses and lawyers is essential. Hair braiders pose little to no threat to public safety, but subpar doctors, nurses and lawyers can ruin lives. To Ms. Allensworth's credit, she asks for evidence. Does occupational licensing protect consumers? The author focuses on the professional board, the forgotten institution of occupational licensing. Governments enact occupational-licensing laws but rarely handle regulation directly--there's no Bureau of Hair Braiding. Instead, interpretation and enforcement are delegated to licensing boards, typically dominated by members of the profession. Occupational licensing is self-regulation. The outcome is predictable: Driven by self-interest, professional identity and culture, these boards consistently favor their own members over consumers. Copyright (c)2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 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All Rights Reserved. Copyright (c)2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.