Dick Carpenter & Lee McGrath: Occupational Licensing: The Need to Reform Kentucky
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FacebookJoin the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise for the event "Occupational Licensing: The Need to Reform Kentucky" with Dick Carpenter and Lee McGrath on September 20th, 2018.
Dr. Dick Carpenter and Mr. Lee McGrath will provide an overview of the Institute for Justice and their work on occupational licensing. The Institute for Justice is the nation’s leading advocate for repealing the biggest type of regulation in the biggest market of them all—the labor market. Occupational licensing laws dictate that 28 percent of all Kentuckians need the governments permission before they can work. That percentage is greater than the 11 percent of Bluegrass residents who are union members and the 3 percent of hourly-paid workers in Kentucky who earn the minimum wage. For years, a myth has prevailed about occupational licensing—consumers, workers, and the general society enjoy greater protection of health and safety as a result of licensing. But the origins of licensing illustrate how from their inception they offer protection primarily for one group—those who are licensed. By excluding competitors, licensed practitioners can command higher prices from consumers. But the costs don’t end there—fewer job opportunities, reduced interstate mobility, and other costs accrue, while the purported social benefits rarely materialize. Fortunately, this is a problem that can be fixed. Through empirically-based analyses and thoughtful application of market and government remedies, benefits to consumers and workers can often be realized without the blunt instrument of licensure and its attendant costs.
The event is free and open to the public. Please join us in Gatton B&E Kincaid Auditorium, room 111, from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. Pizza and refreshments will be served at the end of the event.
Dick Carpenter
Director of Strategic Research, Institute for Justice
Dick Carpenter serves as a Director of Strategic Research for the Institute for Justice (IJ). He works with IJ staff and attorneys to define, implement and manage social science research related to the Institute’s mission.
As an experienced researcher, Carpenter has presented and published writing on property rights, economic regulation, education policy, free speech and a host of other topics. His work has appeared in academic journals, such as Economic Development Quarterly, Economic Affairs, The Forum, Fordham Urban Law Journal, International Journal of Ethics, Education and Urban Society, Urban Studies, Regulation and Governance, and magazines, such as Regulation, Phi Delta Kappan and the American School Board Journal. Moreover, the results of his research have been quoted in newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. Carpenter also coauthored Bottleneckers, which published in 2016.
Before working with IJ, Carpenter worked as a school teacher and principal, public policy analyst and faculty member at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, where he currently serves as a professor. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.
Lee McGrath
Senior Legislative Counsel and Managing Attorney, Institute for Justice
Lee McGrath is the Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice's Minnesota Office and serves as IJ's Senior Legislative Counsel. He joined IJ in 2004. Mr. McGrath received his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He also hold an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago and a Bachelors degree from Georgetown University.
He has been instrumental in reforming laws on eminent domain and deregulation of transportation industry laws in Minnesota.