Does it pay to be a doctor in France?

Summary This paper examines whether general practitionersí(GPsí) earnings are high enough to keep this profession attractive. We set up two samples, with longitudinaldata relative to GPs and executives. Those two professions have similar abilities but GPs have chosen a longer education. To measure if they get returns that compensate for their higher investment, we study their career proÖles and construct a measure of wealth for each individual that takes into account all earnings accumulated from the age of 24 (including zero income years when they start their career after 24). The stochastic dominance analysis shows that wealth distributions do not differ significantly between male GPs and executives but that GP wealth distribution dominates executive wealth distribution at the first order for women.Hence, while there is no monetary advantage or disadvantage to be a GP for men, it is more profitable for women to be a self-employed GP than a salaried executive.