Competition and Regulation in Professions and Occupations

10 June 2024 Paris

The regulation of professional services is widespread. After a period of pro-competitive reforms, liberalisation efforts have stalled and, in some cases, regulatory barriers have been introduced again. This is taking place against a background of technological progress, including developments associated with artificial intelligence, affecting widely the professions and potentially calling into question some of the reasons underpinning regulation in the first place.

In addition, regulated occupations account for a significant number of workers and matter more broadly for both consumers and businesses, accounting for around 25-30% in some countries. Many of these services are not only important in their own right, but are also used as inputs in other economic sectors and therefore have an impact on other sectors too, both domestically and cross-border. For this reason, any inefficiencies or gains will also spread to other sectors of the economy.

In June 2024, the OECD will hold a Roundtable on Competition and Regulation in Professional Services to explore:

What is the status of regulation in professional services and what have been the main policy initiatives in recent years? What are the changes brought about by new technologies and is regulation a barrier to technological developments?
What has been the impact of the introduced reforms? Have they led to the creation of a more pro-competitive environment?
What are the factors contributing to successful competition advocacy? What are the challenges that competition authorities face in their advocacy activities in this area?

This page contains all related materials.

See the full list of best practice roundtables on competition.

Invited speakers

Prof. Morris Kleiner Bio
Professor and AFL-CIO Chair in Labor Policy at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

Prof. Alex Robson Bio
Deputy Chair of Australia’s Productivity Commission