How Much Do Medical Students Know About Physician Income?

Sean Nicholson

No 10542, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Twenty-five cohorts of medical students were asked in their first and fourth year of school to estimate contemporaneous physician income in six different specialties. The students' income estimation errors varied systematically over time and cross-sectionally by specialty and type of student. The median student underestimated physician income by 15 percent, and the median absolute value of the estimation errors was 26 percent of actual income. Students were 35 percent more accurate when estimating market income in their fourth relative to their first year, which indicates medical students learn a considerable amount before choosing a specialty.

JEL-codes: J24 J44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-lab
Date: 2004-06
Note: HE LS
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