The geographical mobility of recently graduated medical doctors

University graduates are not evenly distributed geographically, and attraction and retention of university graduates is high on the agenda in many regional development strategies. In this paper we study the geographical mobility of a particular type of university graduates: medical doctors who specialize to
become general practitioners (GPs).
Access to medical services is included among the services important for ensuring the basics in a welfare society.
The analysis is limited to general practitioners (GPs), although access to other types of medical professionals is also an important aspect of local access to medical services. We have chosen GPs because they – except in cases of emergency – are the main entrance to medical services in Denmark. We study
how different factors may influence where GPs choose to set up medical practice. We pay particular attention to the importance of local attachment – e.g. to the region where they grew up or went to university – for the location of GPs.