Entry to medical school is also extremely competitive in Western Europe and there are also limits on number of places in some countries. And there are shortages of doctors as well.
I don't think that's key.
In Europe healthcare tends to be socialised and heavily regulated so that I would argue that average salaries are kept "artificially" low.
Medical services are highly valued by society for obvious reasons, and the level of required training is extremely high. If the market was left to its own devices I have little doubt that doctors in Europe would earn much more than they do now. Of course that does not mean that healthcare would be better on average, in fact most likely the opposite, but the question is about doctors' income.
I don't think that's key.
In Europe healthcare tends to be socialised and heavily regulated so that I would argue that average salaries are kept "artificially" low.
Medical services are highly valued by society for obvious reasons, and the level of required training is extremely high. If the market was left to its own devices I have little doubt that doctors in Europe would earn much more than they do now. Of course that does not mean that healthcare would be better on average, in fact most likely the opposite, but the question is about doctors' income.