Economic Impact of Regulation in the Field of Liberal Professions in Different Member States. ENEPRI Working Paper, No. 52, 8 February 2007

Paterson, Iain, and Fink, Marcel, and Ogus, Anthony, and Merz, Joachim, and Fink, Felix, and Berrer, Helmut. (2007) Economic Impact of Regulation in the Field of Liberal Professions in Different Member States. ENEPRI Working Paper, No. 52, 8 February 2007. [Working Paper]

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Abstract

[From the Introduction]. This study presents a comparison of the legislation, regulations and codes of practice governing the practice of a range of professional services across member states of the European Union. The professions covered by the study are legal services (lawyers and notaries), accountancy services (accountants, auditors and tax advisers), technical services (architects and consulting engineers) as well as pharmacy services (community pharmacists). While there is a body of theory concerning regulation, in particular concerning the selfregulation of liberal professions, most comparative empirical studies of outcomes have been carried out in the context of state comparisons in the USA. We distinguish between theories that give answers to the question ‘why regulation of professional services (at all)?’ and those that offer answers the question ‘why is there often too high a degree of regulation?’ This distinction is made because a specific regulatory base exists for all the four professional services fields in all member states, but the range of regulatory scope and intensity varies considerably throughout the Union. This fact gives rise to the basic research questions posed in the study, namely whether, to what extent, and in which areas, regulation differs between countries, and in particular to identify the economic effects of different degrees of regulation in member states. The approach used in the study is comparative, and draws on as much information about the liberal professions in member states as exists and has been made available for the study. No adequate knowledge base of regulations or outcomes was previously in existence, so questionnaires were sent to professional bodies in each of the fields covered in all member states, and additionally to European professional umbrella organisations, as well as to some relevant Government departments. The questionnaires sought details of market entry and conduct regulation, recent changes in regulations, and basic economic data of the market for each profession. In addition, detailed accounts of the regulatory features and economic outcomes of specific professions in specific member states are contained in the 17 case studies in Part Two of the report.

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