The New Economics of Skilled Labor Migration

This is a contribution to the new economics of skilled labor emigration that focuses on the mobility of medical doctors from Middle East and North African countries. The theoretical model under risk neutrality and aversion as suggested in chapter 9 is applied. The findings show that the relative expected benefits and the emigration rate have major effects on the net relative human medical capital that remains in the source country. The effects of relative wages in the destination and sending countries besides the yield of education are likely to change the emigration patterns. Comparisons of theoretical and observed relative human capital per country averages are conducted and the statistical validity of the model is ensured. The empirical results based on the available data by Docquier and Marfouk (2006) and Bhargava, Docquier, and Moullan (2010) allow further use of the model to understand the current trends in the emigration of medical doctors. These trends confirm the magnitude of relative wages besides the level of education and the attitude towards risk as determinants of the emigration of skilled labor. The countries included in the study all exhibited brain gain from 1991-2004, but two distinct groups of countries are identified. Each country is encouraged to anticipate the likely effects of this emigration on the economy with the increase of health demand, domestic wages, and the increase in education capacity for medical doctors.