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Factors Influencing the Location and Distribution of Physicians in the Northeastern U.S.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2017

Sam M. Cordes  and
Richard J. Blair
Sam M. Cordes
Affiliation:
The Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
Richard J. Blair
Affiliation:
The Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
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Abstract

Regression analysis was used to analyze the geographic distribution of physicians in the Northeastern U.S. The ratio of general practitioners (GP's) to population, and specialists to population was calculated for each of the 299 counties in the region. The independent variables were categorized into three types of factors: economic, professional, and quality-of-life.

Results indicated that both types of physicians responded similarly to economic and quality-of-life variables, but responded differently to professional considerations. This suggests that the urban concentration of specialists vis-a-vis GP's is due primarily to the relative importance of professional considerations to specialists. Policy implications and directions for further research are presented.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of the Northeastern Agricultural Economics Council , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , April 1981 , pp. 31 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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Footnotes

The authors wish to thank Frank M. Goode, Milton C. Hallberg, and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

This study was supported by Project 2309 of the Pennsylvania State University's Agricultural Experiment Station, and by Title V Rural Development funds.

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