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The past decades have witnessed an increase in the pace and a consolidation of migration of
medical doctors and the globalization of the health system. If properly managed, globalization of
the health workforce could lead to perceptible gains in health status for all parties involved.
Where markets are non-exclusionary, regulatory institutions strong and safety nets in place,
globalization could enhance the performance of countries with a good human and physical
infrastructure. This sub-part reviews the importance of migration and aims at presenting a
different view on migration of medical doctors. While the traditional view has been dominated by
the rhetoric on “brain-drain,” a new and more promising trend of research has centered on the
relatively new concept of “brain-circulation” and new economics of skilled labor migration.
Mobility for medical workers, and health workers, in general, can be a significant contributor to
the formation of scientific and technical human capital, which has been an important driver in
economic expansion and social development in many regions of the world. To illustrate this, an
overview of the major dimensions related to the global health systems are described and
discussed. The findings show that the trends taking place globally are promising for an enhanced
cooperative framework where both developing and developed countries benefit from the new
outcomes of the new economics of skilled labor migration. Circular migration can be seen as a
means to account for the emerging knowledge economy where medical education and research
can be major drivers. The global health system provides avenues for achieving mutually higher
outcomes. While this chapter focuses on the global health system, the following one discusses the
cooperative framework.
This sub-part investigates questions that are relevant to the public policy debate on the
implications of migration of the sending country. The first issue that is tackled is to try
and detangle the complex and diverse web of linkages between globalization and
population health as well as the challenges faced by public policy makers and health
practitioners. Second, the implications of the migration of medical doctors, and skilled
health workers, in general, on the country of origin are investigated. A wide set of
literature and of numerical examples from different parts of the world are reviewed.
Third, the motives for medical migration necessary for the formulation of an adequate
public policy are investigated.
The migration of highly qualified personnel is a phenomenon that has accelerated
tendency during the past decades and has generated a wide spread debate. One strand of
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