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Nurses’ labour supply elasticities: The importance of accounting for extensive margins

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  • Hanel, Barbara
  • Kalb, Guyonne
  • Scott, Anthony

Abstract

We estimate a multi-sector model of nursing qualification holders’ labour supply in different occupations. A structural approach allows us to model the labour force participation decision, the occupational and shift-type choice, and the decision about hours worked as a joint outcome following from maximising a utility function. Disutility from work is allowed to vary by occupation and also by shift type in the utility function. Our results suggest that average wage elasticities might be higher than previous research has found. This is mainly due to the effect of wages on the decision to enter or exit the profession, which was not included in the previous literature, rather than from its effect on increased working hours for those who already work in the profession.

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  • Hanel, Barbara & Kalb, Guyonne & Scott, Anthony, 2014. "Nurses’ labour supply elasticities: The importance of accounting for extensive margins," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 94-112.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:33:y:2014:i:c:p:94-112
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.11.001
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    Cited by:

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    3. Barbara Eberth & Robert F. Elliott & Diane Skåtun, 2016. "Pay or conditions? The role of workplace characteristics in nurses’ labor supply," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 17(6), pages 771-785, July.
    4. David Ulph, 2020. "The Drivers of the Nursing Workforce Gap: a Theoretical Framework," Discussion Paper Series, School of Economics and Finance 202005, School of Economics and Finance, University of St Andrews, revised 11 Sep 2020.
    5. R. Tamara Konetzka & Karen B. Lasater & Edward C. Norton & Rachel M. Werner, 2018. "Are Recessions Good for Staffing in Nursing Homes?," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(4), pages 411-432, Fall.
    6. Martin Kroczek & Philipp Kugler & Anne Zühlke, 2022. "Erwerbsverläufe und Einkommensentwicklung in der Pflege," IAW Discussion Papers 137, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW).
    7. Guyonne Kalb & Daniel Kuehnle & Anthony Scott & Terence Chai Cheng & Sung‐Hee Jeon, 2018. "What factors affect physicians' labour supply: Comparing structural discrete choice and reduced‐form approaches," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 101-119, February.
    8. Michael DiNardi, 2021. "Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansions and the nurse labor market," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(1), pages 367-398, July.
    9. Schweri, Juerg & Hartog, Joop, 2017. "Do wage expectations predict college enrollment? Evidence from healthcare," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 135-150.
    10. Kalb, Guyonne & Kühnle, Daniel & Scott, Anthony & Cheng, Terence Chai & Jeon, Sung-Hee, 2015. "What Factors Affect Doctors' Hours Decisions: Comparing Structural Discrete Choice and Reduced-Form Approaches," IZA Discussion Papers 9054, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Philipp Kugler, 2022. "The role of wage beliefs in the decision to become a nurse," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 94-111, January.
    12. Martin Kroczek & Jochen Späth, 2022. "The attractiveness of jobs in the German care sector: results of a factorial survey," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(9), pages 1547-1562, December.
    13. Rowena Crawford & Richard Disney & Carl Emmerson, 2015. "The short run elasticity of National Health Service nurses’ labour supply in Great Britain," IFS Working Papers W15/04, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    14. Katharina Saunders & Christian Hagist & Alistair McGuire & Christian Schlereth, 2020. "Preferences of a new health care profession. A pilot study with anaesthesia technologist trainees in Germany," WHU Working Paper Series - Economics Group 20-01, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management.
    15. Christine Dauth & Julia Lang, 2019. "Can the unemployed be trained to care for the elderly? The effects of subsidized training in elderly care," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 543-555, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Nursing; Labour supply; Shift work; Wage elasticities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets

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