Brian Albrecht on the FTC’s Noncompete Ban

ICLE Chief Economist Brian Albrecht was cited by The Dispatch in a story on the Federal Trade Commission’s vote to ban nearly all noncompete agreements in employment contracts. You can read the full piece here.

But these are just projections, and some economists argue more research needs to be done on the economic effects of restricting the use of non-competes before a nationwide ban is instituted. “While there’s increasing evidence that banning non-competes—at least the way that it’s been done—increases wages, it’s not conclusive,” Brian Albrecht—the chief economist at the International Center on Law and Economics—told TMD. “There are not that many papers on this. We do not have that many clear examples.” He cited Oregon’s statewide ban on non-competes for hourly workers as a clear example of wages rising after a ban went into effect, but argued that there’s comparatively little research on the effects of a ban applying to every level of income.