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Is the Medical Brain Drain Beneficial? Evidence from Overseas Doctors in the UK

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Author Info
Simon Commander
Mari Kangasniemi
L. Alan Winters
Abstract

The ¿beneficial brain drain¿ hypothesis suggests that skilled migration can be good for a sending countrybecause the incentives it creates for training increase that country¿s supply of skilled labour. To work, thishypothesis requires that the degree of screening of migrants by the host country is limited and that thepossibility of migration actually encourages home country residents to obtain education. We studied theimplications of doctors¿ migration by conducting a survey among overseas doctors in the UK. The resultssuggest that the overseas doctors who come to the UK are carefully screened and that only a minority of doctorsfrom developing countries considered the possibility of migration when they chose to obtain medical education.The incentive effect is thus probably not large enough to increase the skills-supply in developing countries.Doctors do, however, remit income to their home countries and many intend to return after completing theirtraining in the UK, so there could be benefits via these routes.

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Paper provided by Centre for Economic Performance, LSE in its series CEP Discussion Papers with number dp0618.

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Date of creation: Feb 2004
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Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0618

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Related research
Keywords: brain drain international labour market professional labour markets doctors physicians international migration

Find related papers by JEL classification:
F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Jean-Pierre Vidal, 1998. "The effect of emigration on human capital formation," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 589-600. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Stark, Oded & Helmenstein, Christian & Prskawetz, Alexia, 1997. "A brain gain with a brain drain," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 227-234, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Beine, Michel & Docquier, Frédéric & Rapoport, Hillel, 2003. "Brain Drain and LDCs’ Growth: Winners and Losers," IZA Discussion Papers 819, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Beine, Michel & Docquier, Frederic & Rapoport, Hillel, 2001. "Brain drain and economic growth: theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 275-289, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Goldfarb, Robert & Havrylyshyn, Oli & Mangum, Stephen, 1984. "Can remittances compensate for manpower outflows : The case of Philippine physicians," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1-3), pages 1-17. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. K. Hamada & J. N. Bhagwati, 1975. "Domestic Distortions, Imperfect Information and the Brain Drain," Working papers 161, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
  7. Rodriguez, Carlos Alfredo, 1975. "Brain drain and economic growth : A dynamic model," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 223-247, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Bhagwati, Jagdish & Hamada, Koichi, 1974. "The brain drain, international integration of markets for professionals and unemployment : A theoretical analysis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 19-42, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Enrica Detragiache & William Carrington, 1998. "How Big is the Brain Drain?," IMF Working Papers 98/102, International Monetary Fund.
  10. Stark, Oded & Helmenstein, Christian & Prskawetz, Alexia, 1998. "Human capital depletion, human capital formation, and migration: a blessing or a "curse"?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 363-367, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Stark, Oded & Helmenstein, Christian & Prskawetz, Alexia, 1997. "A Brain Gain with a Brain Drain," Economics Series 45, Institute for Advanced Studies. [Downloadable!]
  12. Hamada, Koichi & Bhagwati, Jagdish, 1975. "Domestic distortions, imperfect information and the brain drain," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 265-279, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Oded Stark & Christian Helmenstein & Alexia Prskawetz, 1998. "Human Capital Depletion, Human Capital Formation, and Migration: A Blessing in a "Curse"?," Departmental Working Papers _096, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Economics.
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  1. Frédéric Docquier, 2006. "Brain Drain and Inequality Across Nations," IZA Discussion Papers 2440, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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