Factors Influencing Physicians Migration—A Case Study from Romania

Simona Andreea Apostu, Valentina Vasile, Erika Marin and Elena Bunduchi
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Simona Andreea Apostu: Departament of Statistics and Eonometrics, Faculty of Statistics, Cybernetics and Economic Informatics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania
Valentina Vasile: Institute of National Economy, 050771 Bucharest, Romania
Erika Marin: Departament of Statistics and Eonometrics, Faculty of Statistics, Cybernetics and Economic Informatics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania
Elena Bunduchi: Faculty of Economics and Law, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania

Mathematics, 2022, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-24

Abstract: Brain drain is a phenomenon that, over time, has followed an upward trend. It is an important component represented by physicians’ migration. For the country of destination, the migration of physicians offers several advantages, whereas the country of origin loses skilled and sometimes highly trained individuals. This process will be reflected both in the efficiency of the health system (severe employment shortage) and in the quality of the health system services. After Romania’s accession to the EU, the migration of doctors intensified, significantly increasing the shortage of physicians. The purpose of this article is to identify the push factors that influence the physicians’ decision to migrate from Romania. For this, a panel regression analysis was applied, highlighting that physicians’ migration is influenced by several factors, such as the number of beds in hospitals, the number of emigrants, unemployment rate, and income. At the same time, we analyzed the extent to which public policy measures addressed to the remuneration of medical staff influenced the propensity towards external mobility of the practicing doctors, already employed and/or graduates. The results confirm that public policies can be a tool for redistributing the labor force allocation on the labor market. Moreover, the results of our analysis highlight that specific measures do not solve the system crises facing the health sector. Systemic, multidimensional changes are needed, adapted to the needs of medical services specific to the geographical area and adequate to the health status of the population.

Keywords: migration; brain drain; physicians; push factors; panel regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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