Economic Liberty Research Reports
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Putting Licensing to the Test
More Americans than ever need a license to work. But what do occupational licenses actually accomplish? This case study of one such license adds to a growing body of research that suggests this red tape…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Occupations: A Hierarchy of Regulatory Options
Momentum is growing in favor of reining in excessive occupational licensing. However, policymaking in this arena is too often plagued by assumptions that the only regulatory options are no licensing or full licensing. Such binary…
Economic Liberty
Open for Business
Throughout the nation, cities and counties are looking for ways to promote economic liberty and improve the well-being of their residents But all too often this desire to improve economic conditions manifests itself in expensive…
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Barriers to Braiding
African-style hair braiding is a time-tested and natural craft. Yet most states force braiders to get a government license and take hundreds or even thousands of hours of classes to work legally. This study finds…
Economic Liberty | Vending
Upwardly Mobile
Executive Summary As old as the country itself, American street vending has never been more prominent. It’s the subject of television shows, think pieces and—less happily—burdensome regulations in cities coast to coast. Despite vending’s popularity…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Boards Behaving Badly
In a nutshell, states should: Charge an independent “licensing ombudsman” with reviewing the actions of state licensing boards; Charge the licensing ombudsman with a mandate to promote economic competition; Make the ombudsman responsible for conducting…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing | Transportation | Vending
Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide
You have the right to earn an honest living. This is called “economic liberty” and it is protected by the U.S. Constitution. But often, entrepreneurs face burdensome, arbitrary and anti-competitive laws that make it difficult,…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Untangling Regulations
Natural hair braiding is a beauty practice popular among many African, African-American and immigrant communities in the United States. But braiders in many states have to endure hundreds of hours of unnecessary coursework and pay…
Economic Liberty | Vending
Street Eats, Safe Eats
Boston |Las Vegas |Los Angeles |Louisville |Miami |Seattle|Washington, D.C. Introduction America loves food trucks. These new mobile vendors are creating jobs, satisfying hunger and making downtowns cool…
Economic Liberty | Vending
The Attack on Food Freedom
Today’s bans and strict regulations ultimately limit the choices available to eaters—which include quite literally everyone—and, in the process, prevent food entrepreneurs from earning an honest living.
Economic Liberty
Florida’s Dirty Dozen
Florida legislators can make Florida more business friendly by repealing 12 anticompetitive, senseless and arbitrary laws that hold back entrepreneurs.
Economic Liberty
The Balance Between Public Protection and the Right to Earn a Living
One of the significant challenges facing licensing professionals is striking the most effective, efficient and just balance between regulation of occupations and preserving occupational practice free from unnecessary government restrictions. As discussed in greater detail…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Teeth Whitening
White Out
As the teeth-whitening industry has exploded in recent years, so too has the push for laws and regulations that enable licensed dentists and hygienists to capture a greater share of that market by banning anyone…
Economic Liberty | Vending
Seven Myths and Realities about Food Trucks
Using facts and real-world examples, IJ shows that there is no basis for the argument that restaurants need government intervention to “protect” them from food trucks.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Food-Truck Freedom
In order to foster the conditions that will let food trucks thrive, this report offers recommendations based on the legislative best practices of Los Angeles and other cities.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
License to Work 1
License to Work, 1st Edition Published in 2012, this is an older edition of IJ’s landmark License to Work report. You can download the report here, but please see the third and current edition…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Testing the Utility of Licensing: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Occupational Regulation
This study examines hypothesized benefits associated with occupational licensing in one long-regulated industry in Louisiana—floristry—in order to determine to what extent licensing results in theorized benefits that might justify the costs associated with licensure systems.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Streets of Dreams
Street vending is, and always has been, a part of the American economy and a fixture of urban life. Thanks to low start-up costs, the trade has offered countless entrepreneurs—particularly immigrants and others with little…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Who’s Misleading Whom? Defining Titles in Occupations ‘On the Make’
Can occupational titles mislead the public? Should the use of titles be regulated to protect against such a possibility? Traditionally, occupational regulation is conceptualized as a restriction on the practice of an occupation through licensure,…
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur: A Case Study of the Effects of Entrepreneurship
This study examines the effects of entrepreneurship through qualitative case study methods. It examines the life and work of a single small-business entrepreneur in Tupelo, MS to discern how she affects her community both economically…
Economic Liberty
Washington, DC vs. Entrepreneurs
Rather than pursuing their dreams, too many residents in Washington, D.C., move to more hospitable jurisdictions, take their businesses underground or simply give up.
Economic Liberty
Regulatory Field
This report examines government-created barriers in industries that have traditionally provided a better way of life for the economically disenfranchised.
Economic Liberty
Houston, We Have a Problem
This report focuses on the areas Houston needs to improve in order to remain an opportunity city for all.
Economic Liberty
L.A. vs. Small Business
Los Angeles entrepreneurs are being strangled by red tape, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for entrepreneurs to earn an honest living in the City of Angels.
Economic Liberty
Miami’s Vice
Many Miami entrepreneurs are subject to occupation- or industry-specific regulations, which can take years of arbitrary education and cost thousands of dollars. Small business owners also must comply with paperwork and red tape that is…
Economic Liberty
No Work in Newark
This study examines grassroots entrepreneurship in Newark and offers practical recommendations on how the city, which has become synonymous with urban dysfunction, could reform its laws and practices to encourage more small businesses to operate…
Economic Liberty
No Brotherly Love for Entrepreneurs
At nearly every level, Philadelphia’s city government and related bureaucracies operate with a one-word vocabulary: Whatever the question is, the answer is “No.” From zoning to permitting to occupational licensing, would-be entrepreneurs hear that answer…
Economic Liberty
Unhappy Days for Milwaukee Entrepreneurs
This report chronicles the ways in which the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin make life difficult for small businesses, which threatens both entrepreneurship and the American Dream.
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur
Funeral home and cemetery owner Kim Powers Bridges battled bureaucrats in her home state of Oklahoma where she wanted to sell caskets online. Unsuccessful in that fight, she grew a brick-and-mortar business in Tennessee and…
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur
High-tech Dallas entrepreneur Thane Hayhurst helps businesses across Texas keep their computers running at peak efficiency, but he was threatened to be put out of business under a law that effectively requires anyone who conducts…