RELATIVE WAGES AND EXIT BEHAVIOR AMONG REGISTERED NURSES

I examine the exit decision of registered nurses using the longitudina l data files generated by the March Current Population Surveys (CPS) f rom 1983 through 1994. By examining the wages of workers outside of nu rsing, a measure of the reservation wage is constructed and related to the decision to leave nursing, either for an alternative job or to ex it employment. My results indicate that nurses respond to outside wage opportunities. A one standard deviation decrease in the difference be tween the actual and predicted log wage results in an 8 percent increa se in the exit of nurses. Secretaries, however are shown to have a muc h greeter sensitivity To outside wages due to the lower degree of occu pation-specific training required for secretarial jobs. A similar incr ease in the wage gap for secretaries results in art 18 percent increas e in turnover RNs employed in hospitals, covered by a union contract, and employed in the public sector are relatively attached to the nursi ng profession.