Ulf Gerdtham

Professor

Internal markets and health care efficiency : A multiple-output stochastic frontier analysis

Författare

U. G. Gerdtham
M. Löthgren
M. Tambour
C. Rehnberg

Summary, in English

This paper has two purposes. The first purpose is methodological and aims to extend previous work on efficiency analysis by implementing a multiple-output stochastic ray frontier production function model. This model generalizes the single-output stochastic frontier model to multiple-input, multiple-output technologies and allows simultaneous estimation of technical efficiency and analysis of influential variables on efficiency. The second, empirical, purpose is to test for existence and magnitude of the effect of purchaser/provider split combined with new reimbursement schemes on technical efficiency in the Swedish public hospital system. The analysis is carried out with a panel data set covering the total population of 26 Swedish County Councils from 1989 to 1995. Our empirical results support the frontier model specification and indicate that output-based reimbursement improves technical efficiency. The potential saving in costs due to a switch from budget-based allocation to output-based allocation is estimated to be almost 10%.

Publiceringsår

1999-03-01

Språk

Engelska

Sidor

151-164

Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie

Health Economics

Volym

Issue

Länkar

Dokumenttyp