Labour mobility in the public sector: the impact of job opportunities

Abstract

This paper investigates the mobility of highly skilled labour, using doctors in public hospitals in Denmark as an example. From the perspective of regional development, the concentration of human capital is one of the contributors to regional growth and consequently to inequality between places, being associated most often with differences in economic growth between regions. The decentralisation of highly skilled public jobs to even out the concentration of human capital could be one way to stimulate growth outside city regions. However, such initiatives are somewhat dependent upon the cooperation of the highly skilled public employees, whose preferences have been little studied thus far. Based on data from a survey of 1600 publicly employed doctors, PLUM regression modelling was applied to test the relative significance of four professional preferences influencing choice of workplace. It was found that professional preferences have different influences on doctors’ choices, depending on their place of residence measured in terms of a location’s population density. The paper concludes that opportunities in employment depend on one’s stage in life and can serve to explain choices and mobility among highly skilled public employees.

Keywords:

• public employees
• highly skilled labour
• mobility
• regional development
• Denmark

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge with thanks the collaboration of Yngre Læger, whose support made this study possible. I would also like to thank Professor Lars Winther and Associate Professor Høgni Hansen as well as the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The Trade Association for Private Hospital and Clinics (2012), whose members account for more than 70% of total full-time employment in private hospitals and clinics, estimates that it had about 323 full-time employed doctors in 2012, while Yngre Læger (the Young Doctor’s Labour Union), one of three sub-unions under Lægeforeningen (Doctors of Denmark), had more than 10,000 members in 2011.

2. Figures from 2011 provided by the Younger Doctor’s Labour Union.

3. Large city regions consist of the following municipalities: Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Gentofte, Tårnby, Dragør, Hvidovre, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Gladsaxe, Høje-Taastrup, Albertslund, Glostrup, Ballerup, Herlev, Rødovre, Brøndby, Ishøj and Vallensbæk, with a population density of 528 persons per square kilometre.

4. Medium population density regions consist of the following municipalities: Allerød, Egedal, Fredensborg, Frederikssund, Furesø, Gribskov, Halsnæs, Helsingør, Hillerød, Hørsholm, Rudersdal, Odense, Middelfart, Kolding, Vejle, Fredericia and Aalborg, with a population density of 227 persons per square kilometre.

5. Low population density regions consist of the following municipalities: Bornholm, Greve, Køge, Lejre, Roskilde, Solrød, Faxe, Guldborgsund, Holbæk, Kalundborg, Lolland, Næstved, Odsherred, Ringsted, Slagelse, Sorø, Stevns, Vordingborg, Assens, Faaborg-Midtfyn, Kerteminde, Langeland, Nordfyns, Nyborg, Svendborg, Ærø, Billund, Esbjerg, Fanø, Haderslev, Sønderborg, Tønder, Varde, Vejen, Aabenraa, Hedensted, Norddjurs, Randers, Samsø, Syddjurs, Herning, Holstebro, Ikast-Brande, Lemvig, Ringkøbing-Skjern, Skive, Struer, Viborg, Brønderslev, Frederikshavn, Hjørring, Jammerbugt, Læsø, Mariagerfjord, Morsø, Rebild, Thisted and Vesthimmerlands, with a population density of 76 persons per square kilometre.

6. The categories ‘negative’ and ‘no importance’ were merged to enable a regression that would otherwise have been impossible for technical reasons.

7. Translated from Danish.