Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/324339 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17941
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The health sector requires skilled, altruistic, and motivated individuals to perform complex tasks for which ex-post incentives may prove ineffective. Understanding the determinants of self-selection into health professions is therefore critical. We investigate this issue relying on data from surveys and incentivized dictator games. We compare applicants to medical and healthcare schools in Italy and Austria with non-applicants from the same regions and age cohorts. Drawing on a wide range of individual characteristics, we employ machine learning techniques for variable selection. Our findings show that higher cognitive ability, greater altruism, and the personality trait of conscientiousness are positively associated with the likelihood of applying to medical or nursing school, while neuroticism is negatively associated. Additionally, individuals with a strong identification with societal goals and those with parents working as doctors are more likely to pursue medical education. These results provide evidence of capable, altruistic, and motivated individuals self-selecting into the health sector, a necessary condition for building a high-quality healthcare workforce.
Subjects: 
personality traits
cognitive ability
altruism
health professions
self-selection
machine learning
JEL: 
I1
J24
J4
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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