How valuable are these barriers? Recently taxi medallions in New York have sold for over $200,000 dollars. The city maintains a website with information on [Outside Econweb] medallion prices since 1982 (opens a new browser window).

Medical school is very expensive, prospective physicians take out huge student loans to obtain the education needed to gain a license to practice medicine.

The reason such barriers are so valuable is that they allow firms to earn profits indefinitely, particularly licenses such as taxi medallions, which can be sold again at any time or bequeathed.

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