Straight to the Facts
The Knee Center is a nonpartisan research center focused on 3 core research areas:
- Labor
- Health
- Regulatory Frontiers
The Knee Center is a nonpartisan research center focused on 3 core research areas:
Our mission is to empower stakeholders to drive meaningful policy change through the production, communication, and education of data-driven, peer-reviewed, high-quality research.
Our vision is to set the standard for regulatory research that empowers stakeholders, informs policy, engages communities, and improves the quality of life of all citizens by fostering a more prosperous and equitable society.
Established in 2016, the Knee Regulatory Research Center is an academic research center currently housed within the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University.
It's easy to learn what regulations and certifications affect your career field: Use our Find Occupations page to select your State, Industry, and Occupation.
Use our Find Occupations page to select your State, Industry, and Occupation. It's that easy to learn what regulations and certifications affect your career field.
Established in 2016, The Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation (CSOR) is an academic research center within the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University.
Need help finding information in your state? We've listed links for state Senates, Houses of Representatives, and State Assemblies - including links to help you find bills in each. Click to expand each state.
Common sense tells us that jobs ranging from electricians and surgeons to architects and engineers should require some form of validation. The potential harm to be caused by an unqualified practitioner could be severe.
In today’s environment licensing and other onerous regulations may apply to dance instructors and hair braiders, manicurists and interior designers. Being required to get a license to become a travel guide, for example, boggles the imagination.
Even in cases where most would agree certification is a good idea, the requirements of licensing are often both burdensome and aimed at protecting the market share of licensees, rather than addressing public health and safety concerns.
The uncontrolled growth of occupational regulations only harms consumers by increasing costs and workers by limiting employment options.
Written and verbal testimonies given by members of the Knee Center.
Read More: Kentucky Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations - Interim Hearing
Read More: Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee - Interim Hearing
Our scholars at the KRRC share their research and findings to legislative committees through neutral, nonpartisan testimony. Legislative testimony is one means of connecting academic work directly to policymaking to inform and educate on relevant regulatory policies.
The Knee Regulatory Research Center provides a platform for collaboration and information sharing within the field of regulation by hosting conferences and events amongst early career scholars and top experts, seminars and workshops for students, and providing educational sessions to policymakers to empower data-driven and informed policymaking.