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Author(s): Erik Canton, Daria Ciriaci and Irune Solera
The Economic Impact of Professional Services Liberalisation(2 MB)
Summary for non-specialists(61 kB)
Competition in professional services is, in some occasions, hindered by excessive regulation. This may constrain business dynamics (entry and exit of firms) and create inefficiencies and excessive rents. To improve market performance in those professional services generally regulated, several EU countries have reduced regulatory restrictions regarding the entry into and exercise of these professions. This study is an attempt to evaluate the effects of regulatory barriers in four of them, i.e. legal, accounting, architectural and engineering activities in the EU over the period 2008-2011. It is found that less strict regulation improves their allocative efficiency and reduces the observed larger-than-average profitability, through intensified business dynamics.
KC-AI-14-533-EN-N (online) | KC-AI-14-533-EN-C (print) |
ISBN 978-92-79-35181-5 (online) | ISBN 978-92-79-36147-0 (print) |
doi: 10.2765/71361 (online) | doi: 10.2765/80777 (print) |
Economic Papers are written by the staff of the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, or by experts working in association with them. The Papers are intended to increase awareness of the technical work being done by staff and to seek comments and suggestions for further analysis. The views expressed are the author’s alone and do not necessarily correspond to those of the European Commission.
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