Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy

This paper investigates labor market dynamics for physicians in Vietnam, paying particular attention to geographic distribution and dual job holding. The analysis is based on a survey of a random sample of physicians in 3 regions in 2009-10. We found that the labor market for physicians in Vietnam i...

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Main Authors:	Vujicic, M., Shengelia, B., Alfano, M., Thu, H. B.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	EN
Published:	2012
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5145

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recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-51452021-04-23T14:02:21Z Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy Vujicic, M. Shengelia, B. Alfano, M. Thu, H. B. This paper investigates labor market dynamics for physicians in Vietnam, paying particular attention to geographic distribution and dual job holding. The analysis is based on a survey of a random sample of physicians in 3 regions in 2009-10. We found that the labor market for physicians in Vietnam is characterized by very little movement among both facility levels and geographic areas. Dual practice is also prominent, with over one-third of physicians holding a second job. After taking account of the various sources of income for physicians and controlling for key factors, there is a significant wage premium associated with locating in an urban area. This premium is driven by much higher earnings from dual job holding rather than official earnings in the primary job. There are important policy implications that emerge. With such low job turnover rates, policies to increase the number of physicians in rural areas could focus on initial recruitment. Once in place, physicians tend to remain in their jobs for a very long time. Lastly, findings from an innovative discrete choice experiment suggest that providing long-term education and improving equipment are the most effective instruments to recruit physicians to work in rural areas. 2012-03-30T07:31:32Z 2012-03-30T07:31:32Z 2011 Journal Article Social Science & Medicine 1873-5347 (Electronic) 0277-9536 (Linking) http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5145 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article Vietnam
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	EN
geographic_facet	Vietnam
relation	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description	This paper investigates labor market dynamics for physicians in Vietnam, paying particular attention to geographic distribution and dual job holding. The analysis is based on a survey of a random sample of physicians in 3 regions in 2009-10. We found that the labor market for physicians in Vietnam is characterized by very little movement among both facility levels and geographic areas. Dual practice is also prominent, with over one-third of physicians holding a second job. After taking account of the various sources of income for physicians and controlling for key factors, there is a significant wage premium associated with locating in an urban area. This premium is driven by much higher earnings from dual job holding rather than official earnings in the primary job. There are important policy implications that emerge. With such low job turnover rates, policies to increase the number of physicians in rural areas could focus on initial recruitment. Once in place, physicians tend to remain in their jobs for a very long time. Lastly, findings from an innovative discrete choice experiment suggest that providing long-term education and improving equipment are the most effective instruments to recruit physicians to work in rural areas.
format	Journal Article
author	Vujicic, M. Shengelia, B. Alfano, M. Thu, H. B.
spellingShingle	Vujicic, M. Shengelia, B. Alfano, M. Thu, H. B. Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy
author_facet	Vujicic, M. Shengelia, B. Alfano, M. Thu, H. B.
author_sort	Vujicic, M.
title	Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy
title_short	Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy
title_full	Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy
title_fullStr	Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy
title_full_unstemmed	Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy
title_sort	physician shortages in rural vietnam : using a labor market approach to inform policy
publishDate	2012
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5145
_version_	1764394116426235904

Physician Shortages in Rural Vietnam : Using a Labor Market Approach to Inform Policy

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