Value of licensure reaffirmed by new research report By George Spencer For years, professional associations and regulatory boards lacked hard data that demonstrated the value of licensing amid state regulatory threats to licensure in highly technical professions. In 2020, the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing (ARPL) sought to fill that information gap by commissioning Oxford Economics to help people better understand the nuanced impacts of licensing on professions, as well as trade and vocational occupations. The study, published in the 2021 quantitative report Valuing Professional Licensing in the U.S., found that in fields that require advanced education, women and minorities benefit significantly from current licensing policies. In addition, a license narrows the gender wage gap by about one-third and the race-driven wage gap by about half, according to the study.