The Lacuna Project

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Exhibit 047

Medical School Closures, Market Adjustment, and Mortality in the Flexner Report Era

Exhibit 047 ยท Working paper

Medical School Closures, Market Adjustment, and Mortality in the Flexner Report Era

Nearby medical school closures (within 300 miles) led to a 4% reduction in physicians per capita, even after physician market adjustment through physician migration and postponed retirement.

Finds that the closure of a medical school within 300 miles, mostly between 1905 and 1915, reduced physicians per capita by 4 percent after allowing for migration and delayed retirement. Also reports effects on mortality.

Source
Clay, Miller, Portnykh and Schmick, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 33937
Date
2025
Quoted from
NBER Working Paper 33937 (June 2025), abstract
Grade
Reported
Document
https://www.nber.org/papers/w33937
Accessed
2026-11-09
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit
Note
NBER working paper, not yet peer reviewed.

Cited by

Finding MED-1.10
Peer-reviewed Graduates of more rigorous medical schools were less likely to practice in rural areas, and the closure of a medical school within 300 miles reduced physicians per capita.