The professional associations in Italy: the measurement and effects of regulation

In Italy, regulated occupations that require enrolment in a professional association represent a significant share of overall employment, especially of more highly educated workers. This paper presents a new index measuring the degree of regulation that highlights the heterogeneity between the different professional bodies and shows the impact on the corresponding income from work. Some evidence on the processes of (self) selection in the occupations and the need to take into account the structural changes in the service market suggest that the quality of regulation could improve in some areas.