Conor Norris & Michael Thom

Conor Norris is the assistant director of the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation at the John Chambers School of Business and Economics at West Virginia University. His research has been published in scholarly journals including The Journal of Regulatory Economics, Health Policy, Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, and Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice. He has provided expert testimony in state legislatures on occupational licensing reform and the practice telemedicine. He has also authored numerous articles in the popular press in outlets including The Chicago Tribune, The Houston Chronicle, The Columbia Dispatch, and more. He earned a Masters in Economics from George Mason University during which he was a graduate research fellow for the Mercatus Center. He is an Occupational Licensing Fellow for Empower Mississippi. Michael Thom is an associate professor at the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy. His research and teaching focus on public finance and government regulation. His recent work examines the impact of California's earmarked tax for mental health and licensing costs for mental health occupations. Contact him at mdthom@usc.edu.