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RedditUser91805 t1_j9z0us9 wrote

Reply to comment by phdoofus in For marginal occupations licensed by U.S. states, the welfare costs of licensing exceeds the benefits, as workers have to expend resources to obtain the license and consumers pay higher prices. [The study looks at professions that require license in some states but not others]. by smurfyjenkins

You can judge things by vibes, or you can judge things by evidence. The evidence doesn't indicate an improvement in safety or quality from licensing

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ascandalia t1_j9zjv2z wrote

The article only looks at marginal licensing in some states but not others. I doubt there's a state where plumbers, electricians and contractors aren't licensed.

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RedditUser91805 t1_j9zmbna wrote

You inspired me to find out, so here are US states that do not require occupational licensing at the state level for:

Plumbers: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming

Electricians: Arizona, Florida, Illinois (except coal mine electricians), Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina

Contractors: Florida, Louisiana, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wyoming

Apparently Ontario de jure requires licenses, but hasn't been enforcing it, and therefore de facto doesn't.

Interesting!

More on topic, the data I had on mind but did not cite when I posted this comment was:

Kleiner, M. M., & Park, K. W. (2014, January). Life, limbs, and licensing: Occupational Regulation, wages ... Bureau of Labor statistics. Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2014/article/pdf/life-limbs-and-licensing.pdf.

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ascandalia t1_j9zobr4 wrote

Well, I live in Florida, and I know for a fact that contactor and electrical licensing is required. There may be some things you can do without a license from state to state, but that doesn't mean the license doesn't exist and isn't necessary for some or most work, so this list missing important context

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Kombucha1 t1_ja6dxh1 wrote

It says state level but most likely local regs require it.

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