We model a market for professional services such as those offered by lawyers, auditors or conveyancers. Initially the market is served by a single profession with a self-regulatory organization that sets the quality standard for all the members of the profession. We then introduce a second competing profession (e.g. solicitors vs. licensed conveyancers in England) and compare the market outcomes. It is demonstrated that with two professions the prices of the services fall and so does the quality offered by an average supplier. On the other hand, the total supply of quality might actually rise. When the market is served by two professional groups, then the quality of services offered by the higher-tier profession and the total supply of quality are increasing in the size and in the quality of the lower-tier profession.

我们为专业服务市场建模，例如由律师、审计师或转让人提供的服务。最初，市场由单一行业服务，该行业有一个自律组织，为该行业的所有成员设定质量标准。然后，我们介绍了第二个竞争职业（例如，英国的律师与持牌过户师）并比较市场结果。事实证明，两个行业的服务价格下降，普通供应商提供的质量也下降。另一方面，质量的总供应量实际上可能会上升。当市场由两个专业群体服务时，上层专业提供的服务质量和质量总供给在下层专业的规模和质量上都在增加。