Opinion is divided on how far and in what ways professionalism as a mode of regulation has evolved. To date, attention has focused on the impact of neoliberal political and economic ideologies that challenge the idea that professions should be trusted to regulate themselves. This article further examines the impact of these attacks on professionalism and assesses whether they have triggered a process of decline. Drawing on a range of documentary sources from the US, it suggests that, while professional modes of regulation are evolving, the dominant pattern is one of continuity. The analysis also draws attention to the path-dependent nature of professionalism and how it is associated with increasing returns for key stakeholders: producers, government regulators and employers. The article’s main contribution is to highlight these trends empirically and raise questions about the accuracy and value of grand narratives that over-emphasise change and understate the self-reinforcing nature of professional modes of regulation.

对于作为监管模式的专业化的发展程度和方式，意见分歧。迄今为止，注意力集中在新自由主义政治和经济意识形态的影响上，这些意识形态挑战了职业应该被信任来规范自己的观念。本文进一步研究了这些攻击对专业精神的影响，并评估它们是否引发了下降的过程。借鉴美国的一系列文献资料，它表明，虽然专业的监管模式正在演变，但主要的模式是连续性的。该分析还提请注意专业精神的路径依赖性质，以及它如何与主要利益相关者（生产者、政府监管机构和雇主）的收益增加相关联。