While all of these problems deserve serious attention, economists have tended
to concentrate on the social costs of entry barriers and the resulting monopoly pricing--
perhaps because it is one of the easier licensure impacts to measure. There is
certainly strong empirical evidence that professional cartels do indeed raise prices
and restrict competiti~n.I'n~ li~g ht o f t he existence o f t hese excess returns and what
you have already learned about rent seeking, you should not be surprised to hear
that many professional and quasi-professional groups continue to seek ~icensure.'~'
We should therefore be cautious in advocatin-e licensure as a ~olicva lterna- 8 1
tive. When we do, we should consider alternatives to professional self-regulation.
Yet we believe it is fair to say that the critics of professional regulation have not been
particularly imaginative in proposing alternative policies.'22
Licensure is now spreading beyond its traditional boundaries. Numerous paraprofessional
occupat~ons are winning the right to license and self-regulate. One recent
proposal even suggests that prospective parents should be licensed before having
chi~dren