[bsaul]

Source is a very close friend of mine who's doing research in biology, and who knows how things work here vs the US.

He witnessedthe difference in how the interns are paid, how the researcher are paid, how the labs are funded, gow modern the equipments are, and how much money the pharma corp are ready to spend todevelop new drugs. And this is a completely different world.

Now you're perfectely right and the market size is a big factor. I should have compared europe vs the US. The conclusion would have been the same.

[kalleboo]

How people is paid also reflects the cost of education - in Europe higher education is vastly cheaper than in the US (in many cases free). If American researchers end up with $200,000 in college debt and a European has $10,000, they'll be requiring different salaries.

[marvin]

The US healthcare industry runs at a profit, so your point is moot.