TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Bamieh, Omar
AU  - Cintolesi, Andrea
AU  - Pagliero, Mario
        TI  - Estimating the Returns to Occupational Licensing: Evidence from Regression Discontinuities at the Bar Exam
        PY  - 2026/Jul/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18816
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18816
        AB  - We estimate the earnings returns to occupational licensing by exploiting regression discontinuities at the Italian bar exam. Law graduates who became lawyers after barely passing the exam earned 20,000 euros (50%) more per year than they would have in alternative occupations. This premium is not driven by monopoly rents from entry barriers. Instead, it reflects a compensating differential for the greater earnings risk inherent in the legal profession relative to the outside options available to law graduates.
        KW  - labor market regulation
KW  - occupational licensing
KW  - field of study
KW  - lawyers
        ER  -