Physician specialty choice under uncertainty

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nicholson, S
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/342039
• 发表日期: 2002
• 页码: 816-847
• 关键词: Occupational choice; school; MARKET

摘要

Medical students must receive residency training in a specialty before they can practice medicine in the United States. Since the residents' salaries do not adjust across specialties, residency positions are rationed, and medical students face uncertainty when choosing a specialty. Using a data set with the preferred and realized specialties for 7,200 medical students, I estimate a model where students consider entry probabilities when selecting a specialty. I find that medical students are responsive to expected income differences between specialties, which implies that policies that increase the income of primary care physicians can address shortages in these specialties.