TY  - JOUR
AU  - Nicholson,Sean
TI  - Barriers to Entering Medical Specialties
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9649
PY  - 2003
Y2  - April 2003
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9649
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9649.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Sean Nicholson
Professor
Department of Policy Analysis and Management
Cornell University
102 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Tel: 607/254-6498
Fax: 607/255-4071
E-Mail: sn243@cornell.edu
AB  - Non-primary care physicians earn considerably more than primary care physicians in the United States.  I examine a number of explanations for the persistent high rates of return to medical specialization and conclude that barriers to entry may be creating an economic shortage of non-primary care physicians.  I estimate that medical students would be willing to pay teaching hospitals to obtain residency positions in dermatology, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and radiology rather than receiving the mean residents' salary of $34,000.  In the simulation, the quantity of residents in these four specialties would increase by an estimated six to 30 percent, rates of return would fall substantially, and teaching hospitals would save an estimated $0.6 to $1.0 billion per year in labor costs.
ER  -