Der Kommissionsvorschlag zur Deregulierung des Handwerks

Abstract

Im Herbst 2013 veröffentlichte die EU-Kommission ihre Mitteilung „Bewertung der nationalen Reglementierungen des Berufszugangs“ (COM 2013/676 final), worin sie eine Vereinfachung der länderspezifischen Berufszugänge im EU-Binnenmarkt anstrebt. Dies betrifft auch die deutsche Handwerksordnung mit ihren 41 regulierten Gewerbezweigen. Ziel dieses Gutachtens des ifh Göttingen ist es, sowohl die theoretischen als auch die empirischen Erkenntnisse einschlägiger Studien zu den Auswirkungen von Berufszugangsderegulierungen darzustellen und kritisch in Bezug auf ihre Übertragbarkeit auf das deutsche Handwerk zu beleuchten.

In autumn 2013, the EU Commission published its communication on “Evaluating national regulations on access to professions” (COM(2013) 676 final), proposing to liberalize regulations in the European common market. This approach concerns the German Trade and Crafts Code, which sets mandatory qualification requirement for market entry into 41 different trades. In contrast to strict licensing arrangements, the German trade and crafts code only regulates the qualification requirements of a firm’s operations manager, which is not necessarily the business owner. There is no licensing for employees of craft firms. This report seeks to summarize the theoretical and empirical literature on licensing deregulation. We will critically evaluate if these insights are suitable for predicting possible effects of a further deregulation of the German trade and crafts code. The report finds that both theoretical considerations and existing empirical findings cannot be readily transferred to the situation of the German crafts. This is largely because present empirical studies mainly illuminate the US or UK market. Licensing practices in these markets are, however, not comparable with the German Trade and Crafts Code. Moreover, the literature focusses on professions that require higher levels of qualification than occupations within the German craft sector do. In addition, there is a lack of empirical research on important theoretical deregulation effects such as the reduction of consumer prices, occupational as well as geographic mobility, and the impact on innovation behavior. Theoretical advantages of regulations, such as incentives to increase human capital, are only marginally covered. As the literature does not apply to the specific context of the German crafts sector, it seems more appropriate to investigate the consequences of the last deregulation of the German trade and crafts code, which was implemented in 2004. Initial research indicates that this reform has indeed triggered business start-ups in the deregulated professions. New businesses, however, are characterized by a small number of employees (mostly none) and lower survival rates. The completion rate of advanced degrees (Meister examination) has fallen. Finally, it is likely that the deregulation has neither triggered employment growth nor did it create an impetus for innovation.