Economists Are Unlicensed

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For better for worse, I think economists are unlicensed. Anybody can claim they're an economist. You don't need a PhD in economics. And you don't have to get a PhD for a first rate place. But there's clearly abuse and there are clearly people who don't have those standards.

Clifford Winston of the Brookings Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the market for lawyers and the role of lawyers in the political process. Drawing on a new co-authored book, First Thing We Do, Let's Deregulate All the Lawyers, Winston argues that restrictions on the supply of lawyers and increases in demand via government regulation artificially boost lawyers' salaries. Deregulation of the supply (by eliminating licensing) would lower price and encourage innovation.