Occupational Self-Regulation: A Case Study of the Oklahoma Dry Cleaners

Abstract

Although self-regulation of occupational or professional groups is well established in the United States, the nature of such activities and their influence on the development of the affected industries has been little examined. Self-regulation is usually administered by a board vested with the power to determine the necessary qualifications of new entrants in the occupation and to govern occupational practices through licensing procedures. Often these boards are also vested with the authority to set minimum prices. Such boards exist in professions ranging from medicine, accounting and law to watch-making, the shoeing of horses and manicuring. The Council of State Governments reported that in 1952 there were more than seventy-five different occupations in the United States for which a license to practice was required and that there were more than 1,200 occupational licensing laws within the states-an average of twenty-five per state.