Credentialing rules built to ensure competence now function as trade barriers.

Evidence

Together, these licensure, certification, and accreditation requirements create significant regulatory path dependencies that inhibit the offshoring of radiology (White, 2002). While designed historically to establish baseline competencies for U.S. physicians, in a rapidly changing world in which some healthcare services are capable of being delivered internationally, they act-intentionally or not-as a restraint on trade. — Georg Schreyögg and Jörg Sydow, The Hidden Dynamics of Path Dependence, 575

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the diamond-district literature: private certification and standards shaping who can transact in a market.