Barriers to entry such as fees, licensing, or educational requirements, make it more difficult to start businesses in many countries. Problematically, many barriers to entry are due to regulatory capture and only serve to benefit incumbent firms and businesses. These regulations that are created and enforced by the government often make it exceedingly difficult for low-income individuals to start new businesses or new careers in many industries. By discouraging or even denying individuals access to higher paying occupations, barriers to entry tend to increase income inequality. In this analysis, we estimate empirically the effect that barriers to entry have on income inequality.
American Freedom Institute 