Global Development: Views from the Center

Dean Baker pointed out this article too, with a slightly different take.

I would assume that, esp. for poor people, the state must subsidize nursing training. If nurses then emigrate, unless they send back money which is then taxed to recoup costs, it seems like the state will lose out. Now, are foreign earnings generally taxed? Probably not, although once the incoming funds are circulating through the economy, some are taxed. Any studies on this?

Also, what's the explanation for the failure of schools here to supply enough training to meet the demand (150,000 U.S. applicants rejected because of lack of training slots.) By having training happen de facto in 3rd world countries, won't that further depress teacher wages here and not increase training supply? I know the poor people of 3rd world countries need all the opportunity they can get, but shouldn't we provide training for those who want it in the U.S.? Is it reasonable for those here to arrange to move overseas to get training? What we are saying here is that labor should be allowed (which means 'required' in the end) to move wherever it wants.
What's the solution?

Mr. Clemens is right. In the Philippines now, many career people shift to nursing so they can easily be hired in the US, Canada and UK. Physicians and doctors, engineers and architects, lawyers and managers, teachers and civil servants, among others, have shifted career, studied nursing, passed the nursing board exams, and waited for their turn to be hired abroad.

The supply of nursing students have greatly increased, and the number of private colleges and universities, as well as private hospitals offering BS nursing, have also increased. There will be no "under-supply" in the nursing and health professionals in the Philippines as there is a steady stream of new students and other professionals shifting career to the health sector. Although admittedly, there are some short-term problems, like large-scale exodus of experienced nurses and doctors from provincial hospitals, creating an immediate "vacuum" of experienced health professionals in some parts of the country.

But there are also short-term and immediate gains, like ever-increasing remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) back to their families. Total remittances via official financial channels in 2005 was $10.7 billion, and estimated remittances via friends and other unofficial channels is at least $3 billion more. This year 2006, projected remittances will reach $12 billion, or an average of $1 billion a month, excluding several billion $ of remittances via friends and unofficial channels.

In addition, some sick and well-off people in rich countries who get impatient with protectionism of their countries by limiting the entry of foreign nurses, doctors and other health professionals, come to the Philippines' many hospitals and private clinics for medical treatment and check-ups. This phenomenon is now called "medical tourism", and there are a number of local and foreign entrepreneurs wanting to cash in on this emerging phenomenon.