The market for nurses: Earnings, supply of new entrants, and AIDS
This dissertation investigates the labor market for registered nurses (RNs) from 1970 through 1998. The determinants of RN earnings are investigated over this period using data from the Current Population Survey. To address experience-induced heteroscedasticity in the regression model, an iterative generalized least squares procedure was used. RNs with more education were found to have higher earnings and steeper experience-earnings profiles. Lifetime earnings estimates suggest that the attractiveness of a nursing bachelor degree is due to the high returns of graduate school. A female-male earnings decomposition confirmed that male RNs earn 13.5 percent more than females. The difference in productivity endowments explains approximately 25 percent of this. Time series evidence on the supply of nursing school students indicates that prospective nurses consider the state of the labor market before choosing their field of study. The elasticity of supply with respect to the relative wages of RNs and teachers is approximately 1.75. A test of the cobweb hypothesis was rejected; the nursing market does not follow the typical cyclical fluctuations as found in other fields. As new job opportunities were becoming available to women over the period studied, entry into nursing decreased. An analysis of nursing school entry was also examined by using a panel data set across states. Again, the supply behavior of prospective nurses is well-behaved. The relative earnings of nurses, unemployment, and available job opportunities, were all found to be positively related to entry. The threat of HIV/AIDS, however, had a negative effect on nursing school entry during the early to mid 1980's.
Year of publication: |
2001-01-01
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Authors: | Kalist, David Ernest |
Publisher: |
Wayne State University |
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