Do visas kill? Health effects of African health professional emigration
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This study uses a new database of health worker emigration from Africa to test whether exogenous decreases in emigration raise the number of domestic health professionals, increases the mass availability of basic primary care, or improves a range of public health outcomes.
The results suggest that Africa’s generally low staffing levels and poor public health conditions are the result of factors entirely unrelated to international movement of health professionals. The results further suggest that emigration has caused a greater production of health workers in Africa.[Adapted from abstract]