Cosmetology Gets a Trim: The Impact of Reducing Licensing Hours on Colleges and Students / Nicolas Acevedo Rebolledo, Kathryn J. Blanchard, Stephanie Riegg Cellini.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Acevedo Rebolledo, Nicolas.

Contributor:

Blanchard, Kathryn J.

Cellini, Stephanie Riegg.

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w33936.

NBER working paper series no. w33936

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2025.

Summary:

In the United States, licenses are required for entry into many different occupations. Requirements vary by state and occupation, but many licenses require a minimum number of training or instructional hours. We consider the impact of these hours requirements on students and postsecondary institutions, with a particular focus on cosmetology (also known as hairstyling or beauty). Cosmetology licensing requires extensive training hours (between 500 and 2,100 hours) in every state and typically exceeds the time required for similar licenses. We implement a difference-in-difference design based on state-level changes in required licensing hours for cosmetologists between 2011 and 2019. We ask how and whether changes to hours requirements influence student outcomes and institutional behavior. We find that lowering required hours is likely beneficial for students, as it raises completion, lowers tuition, and expands enrollment among some groups of students. Larger institutions appear to reduce their tuition by less than smaller institutions. We find no detectable effects on the earnings of cosmetologists.

Notes:

June 2025.

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