Is Occupational Licensing a Barrier to Interstate Migration?

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Janna E. Johnson, University of Minnesota

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
2000crosswalk.dta application/x-stata 15.4 KB 10/01/2019 08:12:AM
ACSmaster.do text/x-stata-syntax 3 KB 10/09/2019 08:24:AM
CPSmaster.do text/x-stata-syntax 2.2 KB 10/08/2019 12:21:PM
README.txt text/plain 12.5 KB 10/14/2019 06:56:AM
altSEs.do text/x-stata-syntax 4.9 KB 10/01/2019 07:04:AM
controlsens.do text/x-stata-syntax 6.9 KB 11/26/2019 10:29:AM
cps_00022.do text/x-stata-syntax 256.7 KB 10/08/2019 06:59:AM
cps_00022.zip application/zip 155.3 MB 06/27/2019 11:45:AM
cpscontrolsens.do text/x-stata-syntax 7.7 KB 11/26/2019 10:29:AM
cpsdescriptives.do text/x-stata-syntax 1.2 KB 07/09/2019 02:43:PM

Project Citation: 

Johnson, Janna E. Is Occupational Licensing a Barrier to Interstate Migration? Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2020. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2020-07-23. https://doi.org/10.3886/E110642V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary
Occupational licensure may limit the interstate movement of workers because it adds to the cost of moving between states. We analyze the interstate migration of 22 licensed occupations, proxying for the difficulty of the regulations by comparing state-specific licensed occupations to those with national licensing exams. Our empirical strategy also uses individuals who move a long distance, removing the influence of occupation characteristics and self-selection of migration-averse individuals into licensed occupations. Our estimates show that occupational licensing reduces interstate migration, but the magnitude of the effect can only account for a small part of the overall decline in recent decades.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms ACS; CPS; occupational licensing
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      J18 Demographic Economics: Public Policy
      J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage USA
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 2005 – 2018


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V1 [2020-07-23]

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