Reports
Discussion Papers
No.105 Securing Medical Personnel: Case Studies of Two Source Countries and Two Destination Countries
by YAMAGATA Tatsufumi
May 2007
ABSTRACT
A
shortage
of
medical
personnel
has
become
a
critical
problem
for
developing
countries
attempting
to
expand
the
provision
of
medical
services
for
the
poor.
In
order
to
highlight
the
driving
forces
determining
the
international
allocation
of
medical
personnel,
the
cases
of
four
countries,
namely
the
Philippines
and
South
Africa
as
source
countries
and
Saudi
Arabia
and
the
United
Kingdom
as
destination
countries,
are
examined.
The
paper
concludes
that
changes
in
demand
generated
in
major
destination
countries
determine
the
international
allocation
of
medical
personnel
at
least
in
the
short
run.
Major
destination
countries
often
alter
their
policies
on
how
many
medical
staff
they
can
accept,
and
from
where,
while
source
countries
are
required
to
make
appropriate
responses
to
the
changes
in
demand.
Keywords:
Medical
personnel,
brain
drain,
the
Philippines,
South
Africa,
Saudi
Arabia,
the
United
Kingdom
JEL
classification:
F22,
I19,
J61,
O52,
O53,
O55
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.