IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ejlwec/v55y2023i2d10.1007_s10657-023-09762-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Capitation taxes and the regulation of professional services

Author

Listed:
  • Bruno Deffains

    (University Paris Pantheon Assas)

  • Dominique Demougin

    (University Paris Pantheon Assas
    Technical University)

Abstract

We analyze the introduction of capitation taxes as a mean of regulating professional services in a Principal-Agent moral-hazard framework. Although the tax increases cost and lowers participation, we find that it reduces the marginal price associated with quality. The optimal capitation system balances these opposing effects. We use the setup to derive comparative statics results and discuss possible impacts of improvements in ICT on occupational regulation. We find that the results are more ambiguous than often suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno Deffains & Dominique Demougin, 2023. "Capitation taxes and the regulation of professional services," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 167-193, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:55:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10657-023-09762-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-023-09762-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10657-023-09762-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10657-023-09762-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Judith A. Chevalier & Fiona M. Scott Morton, 2008. "State Casket Sales Restrictions: A Pointless Undertaking?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(1), pages 1-23, February.
    2. Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2013. "Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(S1), pages 173-202.
    3. Dominique Demougin & Carsten Helm, 2006. "Moral Hazard and Bargaining Power," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(4), pages 463-470, November.
    4. Pitchford, Rohan, 1998. "Moral hazard and limited liability: The real effects of contract bargaining," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 251-259, November.
    5. Morris M. Kleiner, 2000. "Occupational Licensing," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 189-202, Fall.
    6. Mark Bagnoli & Ted Bergstrom, 2006. "Log-concave probability and its applications," Studies in Economic Theory, in: Charalambos D. Aliprantis & Rosa L. Matzkin & Daniel L. McFadden & James C. Moore & Nicholas C. Yann (ed.), Rationality and Equilibrium, pages 217-241, Springer.
    7. Dick M. Carpenter, 2008. "Regulation through titling laws: A case study of occupational regulation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(3), pages 340-359, September.
    8. Dominique Demougin & Claude Fluet, 1998. "Mechanism Sufficient Statistic in the Risk-Neutral Agency Problem," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 154(4), pages 622-622, December.
    9. Fabian Herweg & Daniel Muller & Philipp Weinschenk, 2010. "Binary Payment Schemes: Moral Hazard and Loss Aversion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2451-2477, December.
    10. Angrist, Joshua D. & Guryan, Jonathan, 2008. "Does teacher testing raise teacher quality? Evidence from state certification requirements," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 483-503, October.
    11. Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole, 1993. "A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121743, April.
    12. Morris M. Kleiner, 2006. "Licensing Occupations: Ensuring Quality or Restricting Competition?," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number lo, December.
    13. William D. White, 1978. "The Impact of Occupational Licensure of Clinical Laboratory Personnel," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 13(1), pages 91-102.
    14. Kleiner, Morris M & Kudrle, Robert T, 2000. "Does Regulation Affect Economic Outcomes? The Case of Dentistry," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 547-582, October.
    15. Dominique Demougin & Oliver Fabel, 2019. "The Nexus between Contract Duration and the Use of Formal and Informal Incentive Pay," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 33(3), pages 351-370, September.
    16. Thomas N. Hubbard, 2003. "Information, Decisions, and Productivity: On-Board Computers and Capacity Utilization in Trucking," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1328-1353, September.
    17. Paul R. Milgrom, 1981. "Good News and Bad News: Representation Theorems and Applications," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 380-391, Autumn.
    18. Charles G. Carpenter & E. Frank Stephenson, 2006. "The 150-Hour Rule as a Barrier to Entering Public Accountancy," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 27(1), pages 115-126, January.
    19. Demougin, Dominique & Fluet, Claude, 2001. "Monitoring versus incentives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1741-1764, October.
    20. Richard A. Posner, 1974. "Theories of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 5(2), pages 335-358, Autumn.
    21. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    22. Carl Shapiro, 1986. "Investment, Moral Hazard, and Occupational Licensing," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 53(5), pages 843-862.
    23. Maya N. Federman & David E. Harrington & Kathy J. Krynski, 2006. "The Impact of State Licensing Regulations on Low-Skilled Immigrants: The Case of Vietnamese Manicurists," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 237-241, May.
    24. Robert E. Jackson, 2006. "Post-Graduate Educational Requirements and Entry into the CPA Profession," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 27(1), pages 101-114, January.
    25. Thomas N. Hubbard, 2000. "The Demand for Monitoring Technologies: The Case of Trucking," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 533-560.
    26. Morris M. Kleiner & Evan J. Soltas, 2019. "A Welfare Analysis of Occupational Licensing in U.S. States," NBER Working Papers 26383, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    27. Chiara Farronato & Andrey Fradkin & Bradley Larsen & Erik Brynjolfsson, 2020. "Consumer Protection in an Online World: An Analysis of Occupational Licensing," NBER Working Papers 26601, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Leland, Hayne E, 1979. "Quacks, Lemons, and Licensing: A Theory of Minimum Quality Standards," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1328-1346, December.
    29. Chung, Bobby W., 2022. "The costs and potential benefits of occupational licensing: A case of real estate license reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dick M. Carpenter II & Lisa Knepper & Angela C. Erickson & John K. Ross, 2015. "Regulating Work: Measuring the Scope and Burden of Occupational Licensure Among Low- and Moderate-Income Occupations in the United States," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 3-20, February.
    2. Marek Zapletal, 2019. "The Effects of Occupational Licensing: Evidence from Business‐Level Data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(4), pages 894-918, December.
    3. Mocetti, Sauro & Rizzica, Lucia & Roma, Giacomo, 2021. "Regulated occupations in Italy: Extent and labour market effects," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Koumenta, Maria & Pagliero, Mario & Rostam-Afschar, Davud, 2022. "Occupational Regulation, Institutions, and Migrants’ Labor Market Outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Mario Pagliero, 2019. "Occupational Licensing in the EU: Protecting Consumers or Limiting Competition?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(1), pages 137-153, August.
    6. Pagliero, Mario, 2013. "The impact of potential labor supply on licensing exam difficulty," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 141-152.
    7. Marek Zapletal, 2017. "The Effects of Occupational Licensing Evidence from Detailed Business-Level Data," Working Papers 17-20, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    8. Gaetano Basso & Eleonora Brandimarti & Michele Pellizzari & Giovanni Pica, 2021. "Quality and Selection in Regulated Professions," Development Working Papers 467, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    9. Chiara Farronato & Andrey Fradkin & Bradley Larsen & Erik Brynjolfsson, 2020. "Consumer Protection in an Online World: An Analysis of Occupational Licensing," NBER Working Papers 26601, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Kihwan Bae & Edward Timmons, 2023. "Now You Can Take It with You: Effects of Occupational Credential Recognition on Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers 23-03, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    11. Morikawa, Masayuki, 2018. "Occupational licenses and labor market outcomes in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 45-56.
    12. Sauro Mocetti & Giacomo Roma & Enrico Rubolino, 2022. "Knocking on Parents’ Doors: Regulation and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(2), pages 525-554.
    13. V. Joseph Hotz & Mo Xiao, 2011. "The Impact of Regulations on the Supply and Quality of Care in Child Care Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1775-1805, August.
    14. Alicia Plemmons, 2022. "Occupational licensing's effects on firm location and employment in the United States," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 735-760, December.
    15. Mario Pagliero, 2007. "The Impact of Potential Labor Supply on Licensing Exam Difficulty in the US Market for Lawyers," CHILD Working Papers wp19_08, CHILD - Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic economics - ITALY.
    16. Mario Pagliero & Edward Timmons, 2013. "Occupational Regulation in the European Legal Market," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 10(2), pages 243-265, August.
    17. Wing, Coady & Marier, Allison, 2014. "Effects of occupational regulations on the cost of dental services: Evidence from dental insurance claims," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 131-143.
    18. V. Joseph Hotz & Mo Xiao, 2005. "The Impact of Minimum Quality Standards on Firm Entry, Exit and Product Quality: The Case of the Child Care Market," Working Papers 05-28, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    19. Edward J Timmons & Anna Mills, 2018. "Bringing the Effects of Occupational Licensing into Focus: Optician Licensing in the United States," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 44(1), pages 69-83, January.
    20. Xia, Xing, 2021. "Barrier to Entry or Signal of Quality? The Effects of Occupational Licensing on Minority Dental Assistants," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Professional regulation; Capitation taxes; Moral hazard; Monitoring;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:55:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10657-023-09762-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.