Alicia Plemmons

Assistant professor of economics and general business at West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics, and director of the Knee Regulatory Research Center. Her research focuses on occupational licensing, healthcare regulation, scope of practice, labor markets, and the economic effects of regulatory policy.

Occupational Licensing Rules Need Evidence on Quality, Access, and Costs

Kyle Rozema framed occupational licensing as a trade-off between public protection and restricted access to work and services, and the panelists applied that test across law, medicine, economics, apprenticeships, screening, and discipline. Jason Hicks, Alicia Plemmons, and Yun Taek Oh largely defended licensing where it plausibly controls quality, but argued that many existing requirements — from portability barriers and recurring exams to opaque character reviews and public discipline — need narrower justification, better evidence, and more transparent design.

Hoover InstitutionJul 9, 202619 min read