Most practitioners of the liberal professions in Costa Rica (physicians, lawyers, engineers, journalists, professors, etc.) are required to join an association (called "colegio") in order to practice their calling. A university degree, though necessary, is not sufficient for practice: graduates must apply to the appropriate professional association in order to be licensed. They will have to pay a monthly fee to remain in good standing. The fee may be small (in the case of teachers, for example) or rather large (physicians, for instance).

This arrangement dates back to the time when there were no institutions of higher education in the country. Before the creation of the University of Costa Rica in 1940, the professional associations, especially those of medical doctors, lawyers, and engineers, were the only bodies which could perform the all-important task of establishing the credentials of would-be practitioners. They even did some teaching.

There are two main purposes of the professional associations: to insure competence and to unite the practitioners in a single body. Obviously, the first aim does not imply the second, but all associations without exception have fought off attempts at keeping the first and dropping the second. The survival of their bureaucracies is at stake, of course. Since the Constitution (art. 25) forbids forcing people to join associations of any kind, it is hard to see how to reconcile the requirement of joining professional bodies, which are created on demand by the National Legislative Assembly, and the freedom of individuals. This situation was challenged before the Supreme Court. The landmark decision found no unconstitutionality in it because nobody is forced to practice a particular profession. Needless to say, many disagree with this line of reasoning.

These associations supervise professional practice in order to prevent any misbehavior on the part of associates. Since associations are not part of the state or of the government, the licensing of professionals in Costa Rica is not a means at the disposal of the state to control, for example, the flow of information. Associations respond to the interests of particular groups vis-a-vis the state and the general public. In this, they have been very successful.

Many in the country consider our present system unsatisfactory First, professional associations regulate practice in such a way that they press government agencies and officials to secure for them many positions in the public administration and in the carrying through of many enterprises generated in the private sector. There is a trade-off here between the individual practitioner of a liberal profession and her "colegio": one loses some independence, but at the same time one gains more possibilities for practicing one's profession. Requirements for hundreds of positions are established by the Civil Service. Each professional association sees to it that its members will be chosen to fill as many of these positions as possible, even those which only remotely have something to do with the profession.

Second, professional associations often obtain privileges which in fact amount to the taxpayer paying for the fringe benefits of private groups of professionals. In any official transaction one could think of (travel, building permits, inheritance transfers, etc.) there is always one or another of the ubiquitous legal stamps to be bought, often for the benefit of some professional association. So, if you want to travel abroad you have to buy several "sellos" (legal stamps), one of which is for the association of journalists. With money "earned" this way, plus regular fees, the association is able to provide its members with a well-equipped country club.

Professional regulation in Costa Rica also pays too much attention to rules and privileges and too little to improvement in technical and technological conditions in the practice of the professions. The careerist is encouraged to remain in good standing by compliance with regulations of his guild, but few incentives are offered to improve the way he practices his profession. Those incentives do not come from professional regulations. This is why many think these all-powerful associations have as their main function protecting mediocrity. Mediocrity shuns innovation.

Technological innovation means a change in the way things are done. This implies both artifacts and processes, both the use of objects and the way actions are structured in order to get people and objects to operate purposefully. At this juncture, there are two conflicting views of the role of tight associations: some see an advantage in their existence, but some decry their all pervasive influence. My view is that the existence of professional associations in Costa Rica may be useful for the vendor of some products (pharmaceuticals, for instance), since professions are very convenient if one wants to reach all associates. At the same time, the very way they function is not conducive to real change. Protected in a cocoon by layers of legislation and by the company of their peers, secured in their privileges vis-a-vis the state and civil society, professionals will have to look somewhere else to find a challenge to established ways. That they often do is a tribute to their ingenuity.