An Arizona Story: Controlling Clip Joints
4 Pages Posted: 26 Jun 2009 Last revised: 11 Aug 2009
Date Written: 1980
Abstract
This article considers the effect of excessive governmental regulation by looking at Arizona’s regulatory scheme for entry into, preparation for, and the practice of barbering, as a case in point. While the licensing of barbers to ensure sanitary conditions in barber shops is well-intentioned, the article suggests Arizona’s scheme has crossed the line from reasonable oversight to regulatory overkill, resulting in restricted entry and creating anticompetitive problems. The article suggests that in a free market, the unscrupulous and inept tend to get shaken out, without governmental paternalism and with minimal distortion in resource allocation.
Keywords: regulation, competition, occupational licensing
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