PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Basso, Gaetano
AU  - Brandimarti, Eleonora
AU  - Pellizzari, Michele
AU  - Pica, Giovanni
TI  - Quality and selection in regulated professions
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.0824-13810R1
DP  - 2025 Dec 08
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 0824-13810R1
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2025/12/02/jhr.0824-13810R1.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2025/12/02/jhr.0824-13810R1.full
AB  - Entry into many occupations is regulated to screen out the least able candidates, but available evidence suggests that this objective is rarely achieved. Using microdata covering the universe of Italian law school graduates (2007-2013), we show that this result is largely due to the strong intergenerational transmission of occupations within regulated professions. We find that having relatives already active as lawyers significantly increases the probability of passing the entry exam and boosts earnings, particularly for those who performed poorly in law school.