Doctors Without Borders? Re-Licensing Requirements and Negative Selection in the Market for Physicians

IZA Logo
   

IZA Seminar

Place: Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 9, 53113 Bonn

Date: 11.05.2004, 12:15 - 13:30

   

Presentation by 

Robert M. Sauer (Royal Holloway, University of London)
   

Abstract:

Re-licensing requirements for professionals that move across borders are
widespread. In this paper, we measure the effects of occupational licensing by
exploiting an immigrant physician re-training assignment rule. Instrumental
variables and quantile treatment effects estimates indicate large returns to acquiring
an occupational license and negative selection into licensing status. We
also develop a general model of optimal license acquisition which, together with
the empirical results, suggests that stricter re-licensing requirements may not
only lead to practitioner rents but also to lower average quality of service in
the market for physicians.

   
Download complete paper   
   
For more information, please contact seminar@iza.org