Estimating the returns to occupational licensing: evidence from regression discontinuities at the bar exam

Omar Bamieh (), Andrea Cintolesi and Mario Pagliero
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Omar Bamieh: University of Vienna
Mario Pagliero: University of Turin and Collegio Carlo Alberto

No 1440, Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: We estimate the monetary returns to occupational licensing of Italian lawyers. To enter the legal profession in Italy, lawyers must pass a written and an oral exam featuring sharp discontinuities in the passing grade. Focusing on a subgroup of Italian law graduates taking the bar exam in Turin (a city in Northwest Italy), we exploit the sharp discontinuity generated by the bar exam to compare individuals who marginally pass and fail the bar exam and compare their earnings up to 19 years since their first attempt at the bar exam. We find that individuals with a licence to practice law earn, on average, euro 21,000 gross more per year than individuals without a license. These returns are positive in each year of the analysis, increase up to the tenth year and then decrease.

Keywords: labour market regulation; occupational licensing; earnings; legal market; bar exam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J08 J44 L50 L84 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law, nep-lma and nep-reg
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1440_24

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