EMPLOYMENT Working Paper No. 248

Preliminary review of country studies on occupational licensing. Benefits and Shortcomings in Limiting Entry on the Labour Market

The Ministry of Labour of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions and the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, jointly formed in a tripartite committee, requested ILO support in 2014 to design and implement a pilot on occupational licensing. Part of the design process is a review of practices in selected countries, presented in this Working Paper. This review looks into why many countries limit entry to the labour market, how they organize this restriction, and for what impact.