Border Battles: The Influence of Occupational Licensing on Interstate Migration

Based on the legal and economic issues presented, state licensing standards should allow individuals to move across state lines with minimal costs for retraining or residency requirements. When licensing is deemed to be in the public interest, weighed against the economic costs, states and localities should accept, as much as possible, licenses granted by other states. The Nurse Licensure Compact mentioned earlier is one example: all states party to the compact have agreed to accept nursing licensure applicants from the other party states without additional requirements. In the case of endorsement, a state will accept out-of state applicants as long as the origin state has substantially equivalent licensure standards as the destination state (DePasquale and Stange 2014). Recognition of occupational licenses across states may not benefit all licensed workers equally. For example, the decision to move often depends on both age and education, with younger and more-educated workers usually having the most to gain from migration.

Morris M. Kleiner

Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

October 2015

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