Why psychiatry is a low-paid medical specialty

The authors examine the effect of economic forces on the income of psychiatrists and compare the economic position of psychiatry with that of the rest of medicine. Since 1970 the income of psychiatrists has been losing ground compared with that of other medical specialists, although recent data suggest a possible improvement in the economic position of psychiatry. The authors believe that psychiatrists' incomes are important as a sign of the value of psychiatric care and as one measure of the economics of practice, that is, the incentives related to the distribution of scarce technology and labor in the service delivery system.