Veterinary Supply, Gender and Practice Location Choices in the United States, 1990-2010

The United States veterinary profession has changed markedly over the past 20 years. The human population has increased by 24% whereas the number declaring veterinarian as their profession has increased by 50% and the profession’s female share has increased from 27% to 50%. We discuss some economics surrounding the allocation of male and female veterinarians across space and then estimate bivariate tobit models of location choice for 1990, 2000 and 2010. Females are less responsive to the presence of large animals than are males. For both genders, responsiveness has generally declined over time. The trend is strongest for hogs whereas responsiveness has held steady for horses. Using animal caretakers as a proxy for companion animals, we find that female veterinarians have become more responsive to this indicator over the twenty years. Female employment in a region is consistently more responsive to region income than is male employment while females have also consistently preferred to work by a veterinary college. All else equal, female and male veterinarians tend not to locate in rural areas. Aversion to rural areas has remained fixed over time among males but has strengthened among females.