Changes in demographics and patterns ofinvestment in human capital are creating opportunities forinternational trade in professional services. As populationsin rich countries age, developing countries are seeing anincrease in the proportion of working-age people. At thesame time, the richest countries are investingproportionally less than middle income countries inengineering and technical human capital. In India, thelargest developing country exporter of skilled services, thesupply of educated manpower has been rising rapidly.In theU.S., the largest single importer of skilled services demandfor reasonably-priced, skilled workers like doctors,engineers, accountants and other high skilled professions isoutpacing domestic supply. The movement of professionalsacross countries faces explicit barriers, such asrestrictive visa regimes, and implicit impediments in theform of regulatory requirements to obtain qualifications,training and experience and licenses even when a serviceprovider is already qualified and licensed in anotherjurisdiction. This paper focuses on the implicitimpediments. Domestic regulations such as licensing andqualification requirements and procedures have a profoundeffect on services trade, but their analysis has provedelusive. Sifting the legitimate from the protectionist isfar from straightforward.Nevertheless, we take a firststep in this analysis, focusing on how regulatoryrequirements and procedures impact on Indian doctors,engineers, architects and accountants when they wish topractice their profession in the United States.
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