ABSTRACT
The liberal professions are characterized by a high degree of regulation, in the form of, e.g. educational requirements, business restrictions, regulation of fees and advertising restrictions. Whereas the aim of this regulation is to improve the quality of services provided by doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals, it also limits competition between them and restricts entry into the profession. It is precisely for that reason that over the last decades professional regulation has received much attention from competition authorities and government agencies, including the European Commission (notably DG Competition and DG Internal Market). In all of these studies, the economic analysis of regulation has played an important role.
