Medical Brain Drain Revisited

Abstract

There is increasing pressure for the training of greater numbers of doctors. This pressure stems from the growing demand for higher education for the children of an expanding middle class, and from the desire to create more “satisfactory” doctor/population ratios. But, in fact, the middle classes produce doctors primarily to serve their own class. Since the training of doctors is geared to the values and requirements of those with money incomes sufficient to purchase private medical care, it is very expensive. These costs are such that the level of effective economic demand of most of the population cannot possibly meet the expectations and requirements of the medical graduates, who then “overflow” into those parts of the world where demand is greater than the current supply of doctors.