The Institute for Justice, an American libertarian think tank
that focuses on legal issues, has just released a superb report
on occupational licensure [3]. Charting how many occupations
require state permission in each state, the most striking result
is how regulated low-skilled parts of the market are, and how
high the barriers are.   On average among the 102 professions
surveyed, government licenses require applicants to "spend nine
months in education or training, pass one exam and pay more than
$200 in fees. One third of the licenses take more than one year
to earn. At least one exam is required for 79 of the
occupations."  The most likely explanation is that licensed
professions have successfully lobbied the government to restrict
access to the market to inhibit competition. It might inititally
seem more outrageous that manicurists are more heavily regulated
than pre-school teachers, but this might be a blessing in
disguise.  As David Friedman has written [4], the likely outcome
of licensing professions