Occupational Licensing and the Healthcare Labor Market
We examine the labor market impact of states easing occupational license requirements by expanding the scope of practice (SOP) for nurse practitioners (NPs), allowing them to practice without physician oversight. Using data on job postings, we find that employers increase their demand for NPs when states expand NP SOP. We then show that SOP laws also increase NP earnings and reallocate NPs across the healthcare sector, including increasing self-employment. The laws only mildly increase employment, however. Therefore, expanding NP SOP has the potential to increase access to primary care, but inelastic NP labor supply has largely prevented this from occurring.
-
-
Copy CitationMarcus Dillender, Anthony T. Lo Sasso, Brian J. Phelan, and Michael R. Richards, "Occupational Licensing and the Healthcare Labor Market," NBER Working Paper 29665 (2022), https://doi.org/10.3386/w29665.Download Citation
-
Published Versions
Marcus Dillender & Anthony T. Lo Sasso & Brian J. Phelan & Michael Richards, 2026. "Occupational Licensing and the Healthcare Labor Market," Journal of Human Resources, vol 61(3), pages 1004-1039. citation courtesy of 
Related
More from the NBER
In addition to working papers, the NBER disseminates affiliates’ latest findings through a range of free periodicals—the NBER Reporter, the NBER Digest, the Bulletin on Health, the Bulletin on the Economics of Alzheimer's, and the Bulletin on Entrepreneurship—as well as research spotlights, lectures, and panel videos.
