IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v33y2015icp179-199.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does hospital competition improve health care delivery in China?

Author

Listed:
  • Pan, Jay
  • Qin, Xuezheng
  • Li, Qian
  • Messina, Joseph P.
  • Delamater, Paul L.

Abstract

This paper analyzes whether hospital competition is associated with improved health care delivery in China, particularly in the dimensions of health care quality and cost. We explore the differences in competition over time and across regions to examine the relationship in an environment wherein the hospital industry is largely state owned, the price of medical care is partially regulated, and hospitals can compete on both quality and cost. Using provincial- and individual-level data, along with a set of outcome indicators, we find that hospital competition is significantly correlated with lower observation room mortality, shorter outpatient waiting time, and fewer outpatient costs, while we do not find evidence that would suggest negative influences of competition on the other measures of hospital performance. Our results offer new evidence in support of competition-based reforms in China's health care sector and provide implications for other developing countries facing similar health care challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Jay & Qin, Xuezheng & Li, Qian & Messina, Joseph P. & Delamater, Paul L., 2015. "Does hospital competition improve health care delivery in China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 179-199.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:33:y:2015:i:c:p:179-199
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2015.02.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X15000267
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2015.02.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hsien‐Ming Lien & Shin‐Yi Chou & Jin‐Tan Liu, 2010. "The Role Of Hospital Competition On Treatment Expenditure And Outcome: Evidence From Stroke And Cardiac Treatment In Taiwan," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 48(3), pages 668-689, July.
    2. Sloan, Frank A. & Hsieh, Chee-Ruey, 2012. "Health Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262016761, December.
    3. Gaynor, Martin & Vogt, William B., 2000. "Antitrust and competition in health care markets," Handbook of Health Economics, in: A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 27, pages 1405-1487, Elsevier.
    4. Robert Connor & Roger Feldman & Bryan Dowd, 1998. "The Effects of Market Concentration and Horizontal Mergers on Hospital Costs and Prices," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 159-180.
    5. Gaynor, Martin & Town, Robert J., 2011. "Competition in Health Care Markets," Handbook of Health Economics, in: Mark V. Pauly & Thomas G. Mcguire & Pedro P. Barros (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 499-637, Elsevier.
    6. Sloan, Frank A. & Hsieh, Chee-Ruey, 2012. "Student Solutions Manual to Accompany Health Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262517906, December.
    7. Jay Pan & Gordon G. Liu, 2012. "The Determinants Of Chinese Provincial Government Health Expenditures: Evidence From 2002–2006 Data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(7), pages 757-777, July.
    8. Zack Cooper & Stephen Gibbons & Simon Jones & Alistair McGuire, 2011. "Does Hospital Competition Save Lives? Evidence From The English NHS Patient Choice Reforms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(554), pages 228-260, August.
    9. Nicholas Bloom & Carol Propper & Stephan Seiler & John Van Reenen, 2015. "The Impact of Competition on Management Quality: Evidence from Public Hospitals," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(2), pages 457-489.
    10. Tay, Abigail, 2003. "Assessing Competition in Hospital Care Markets: The Importance of Accounting for Quality Differentiation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(4), pages 786-814, Winter.
    11. Robinson, James C. & Luft, Harold S., 1985. "The impact of hospital market structure on patient volume, average length of stay, and the cost of care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 333-356, December.
    12. Chenggang Xu, 2011. "The Fundamental Institutions of China's Reforms and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1076-1151, December.
    13. Martin Gaynor, "undated". "What Do We Know About Competition and Quality in Health Care Markets?," GSIA Working Papers 2006-E62, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business.
    14. Daniel P. Kessler & Mark B. McClellan, 2000. "Is Hospital Competition Socially Wasteful?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 577-615.
    15. Karen Eggleston & Li Ling & Meng Qingyue & Magnus Lindelow & Adam Wagstaff, 2008. "Health service delivery in China: a literature review," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(2), pages 149-165, February.
    16. Wanchuan Lin & Gordon G. Liu & Gang Chen, 2009. "The Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance: a landmark reform towards universal coverage in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S2), pages 83-96, July.
    17. World Bank, 2010. "Fixing the Public Hospital System in China," World Bank Publications - Reports 27720, The World Bank Group.
    18. Noether, Monica, 1988. "Competition among hospitals," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 259-284, September.
    19. Propper, Carol & Burgess, Simon & Green, Katherine, 2004. "Does competition between hospitals improve the quality of care?: Hospital death rates and the NHS internal market," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(7-8), pages 1247-1272, July.
    20. Karen Eggleston & Yu‐Chu Shen & Joseph Lau & Christopher H. Schmid & Jia Chan, 2008. "Hospital ownership and quality of care: what explains the different results in the literature?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(12), pages 1345-1362, December.
    21. Rachel E. Kranton, 2003. "Competition and the Incentive to Produce High Quality," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 70(279), pages 385-404, August.
    22. Gaynor, Martin & Vogt, William B, 2003. "Competition among Hospitals," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(4), pages 764-785, Winter.
    23. Daron Acemoglu, 2010. "Theory, General Equilibrium, and Political Economy in Development Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 17-32, Summer.
    24. Philip H. Brown & Caroline Theoharides, 2009. "Health‐seeking behavior and hospital choice in China's New Cooperative Medical System," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S2), pages 47-64, July.
    25. Adam Wagstaff & Winnie Yip & Magnus Lindelow & William C. Hsiao, 2009. "China's health system and its reform: a review of recent studies," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S2), pages 7-23, July.
    26. Mark A. Satterthwaite, 1979. "Consumer Information, Equilibrium Industry Price, and the Number of Sellers," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(2), pages 483-502, Autumn.
    27. Johannes Hörner, 2002. "Reputation and Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 644-663, June.
    28. Capps, Cory & Dranove, David & Lindrooth, Richard C., 2010. "Hospital closure and economic efficiency," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 87-109, January.
    29. Martin Gaynor & Rodrigo Moreno-Serra & Carol Propper, 2013. "Death by Market Power: Reform, Competition, and Patient Outcomes in the National Health Service," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 134-166, November.
    30. Carol Propper & Simon Burgess & Denise Gossage, 2008. "Competition and Quality: Evidence from the NHS Internal Market 1991–9," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(525), pages 138-170, January.
    31. Louis F. Rossiter & Gail R. Wilensky, 1984. "Identification of Physician-Induced Demand," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 19(2), pages 231-244.
    32. Blomqvist, Ake, 1991. "The doctor as double agent: Information asymmetry, health insurance, and medical care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 411-432.
    33. Dranove, David & Ludwick, Richard, 1999. "Competition and pricing by nonprofit hospitals: a reassessment of Lynk's analysis," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 87-98, January.
    34. Town, Robert & Vistnes, Gregory, 2001. "Hospital competition in HMO networks," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 733-753, September.
    35. Daniel P. Kessler & Jeffrey J. Geppert, 2005. "The Effects of Competition on Variation in the Quality and Cost of Medical Care," NBER Working Papers 11226, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    36. Chen, Chi-Chen & Cheng, Shou-Hsia, 2010. "Hospital competition and patient-perceived quality of care: Evidence from a single-payer system in Taiwan," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 65-73, November.
    37. Nazmi Sari, 2002. "Do competition and managed care improve quality?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(7), pages 571-584, October.
    38. Daniel P. Kessler & Jeffrey J. Geppert, 2005. "The Effects of Competition on Variation in the Quality and Cost of Medical Care," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 575-589, September.
    39. Mark V. Pauly & Mark A. Satterthwaite, 1981. "The Pricing of Primary Care Physicians' Services: A Test of the Role of Consumer Information," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 488-506, Autumn.
    40. Pan, Jay & Liu, Gordon G. & Gao, Chen, 2013. "How does separating government regulatory and operational control of public hospitals matter to healthcare supply?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-14.
    41. Ming Su & Quanhou Zhao, 2006. "The fiscal framework and urban infrastructure finance in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4051, The World Bank.
    42. Gravelle, Hugh, 1999. "Capitation contracts: access and quality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 315-340, June.
    43. Dranove, David, 2011. "Health Care Markets, Regulators, and Certifiers," Handbook of Health Economics, in: Mark V. Pauly & Thomas G. Mcguire & Pedro P. Barros (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 639-690, Elsevier.
    44. Zwanziger, Jack & Melnick, Glenn A., 1988. "The effects of hospital competition and the Medicare PPS program on hospital cost behavior in California," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 301-320, December.
    45. Paul L Delamater & Joseph P Messina & Sue C Grady & Vince WinklerPrins & Ashton M Shortridge, 2013. "Do More Hospital Beds Lead to Higher Hospitalization Rates? A Spatial Examination of Roemer’s Law," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-16, February.
    46. James D. Dana Jr. & Yuk‐Fai Fong, 2011. "Product Quality, Reputation, And Market Structure," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1059-1076, November.
    47. Musgrove, P., 1996. "Public and Private Roles in Health," World Bank - Discussion Papers 339, World Bank.
    48. Lynk, William J, 1995. "Nonprofit Hospital Mergers and the Exercise of Market Power," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(2), pages 437-461, October.
    49. Liu, Gordon G. & Li, Lin & Hou, Xiaohui & Xu, Judy & Hyslop, Daniel, 2009. "The role of for-profit hospitals in medical expenditures: Evidence from aggregate data in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 625-633, December.
    50. Dranove, David & Shanley, Mark & White, William D, 1993. "Price and Concentration in Hospital Markets: The Switch from Patient-Driven to Payer-Driven Competition," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 179-204, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xuan Sun & Tao Sun & Yushan Jin & Ya Ping Wang, 2019. "Spatial Organization of Hierarchical Medical Services within the City Proper of Tianjin, China: Towards Efficient Medical Alliances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Pan, Jay & Liu, Dan & Ali, Shehzad, 2015. "Patient dissatisfaction in China: What matters," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 145-153.
    3. Yun Liu & Qingxia Kong & Shasha Yuan & Joris van de Klundert, 2018. "Factors influencing choice of health system access level in China: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Lu, Liyong & Pan, Jay, 2019. "The association of hospital competition with inpatient costs of stroke: Evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 234-245.
    5. Wang, Qing & Zhang, Donglan & Hou, Zhiyuan, 2016. "Insurance coverage and socioeconomic differences in patient choice between private and public health care providers in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 124-132.
    6. Kao, Chiang & Pang, Rui-Zhi & Liu, Shiang-Tai & Bai, Xue-Jie, 2021. "Most productive types of hospitals: An empirical analysis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Rój Justyna, 2016. "Competition Measurement of Hospitals in Poland: The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index Approach," Ekonomika (Economics), Sciendo, vol. 95(1), pages 166-181, January.
    8. Xuan Sun & Weikai Wang & Tao Sun & Ya Ping Wang, 2018. "Understanding the Living Conditions of Chinese Urban Neighborhoods through Social Infrastructure Configurations: The Case Study of Tianjin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Carrie Colla & Julie Bynum & Andrea Austin & Jonathan Skinner, 2016. "Hospital Competition, Quality, and Expenditures in the U.S. Medicare Population," NBER Working Papers 22826, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Xiaojun Lin & Miao Cai & Qiang Fu & Kevin He & Tianyu Jiang & Wei Lu & Ziling Ni & Hongbing Tao, 2018. "Does Hospital Competition Harm Inpatient Quality? Empirical Evidence from Shanxi, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, October.
    11. Liyong Lu & Jay Pan, 2021. "Does hospital competition lead to medical equipment expansion? Evidence on the medical arms race," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 582-596, September.
    12. Guanfu Fang & Hui Cao, 2020. "State versus private provision: How does China’s market‐oriented reform affect healthcare delivery?," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 381-411, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gaynor, Martin & Town, Robert J., 2011. "Competition in Health Care Markets," Handbook of Health Economics, in: Mark V. Pauly & Thomas G. Mcguire & Pedro P. Barros (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 499-637, Elsevier.
    2. Martin Gaynor & Kate Ho & Robert J. Town, 2015. "The Industrial Organization of Health-Care Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(2), pages 235-284, June.
    3. Roos, Anne-Fleur & O’Donnell, Owen & Schut, Frederik T. & Van Doorslaer, Eddy & Van Gestel, Raf & Varkevisser, Marco, 2020. "Does price deregulation in a competitive hospital market damage quality?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Martin Gaynor, "undated". "What Do We Know About Competition and Quality in Health Care Markets?," GSIA Working Papers 2006-E62, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business.
    5. Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong, 2013. "Effects of competition on hospital quality: an examination using hospital administrative data," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 14(3), pages 415-429, June.
    6. Zack Cooper & Stephen Gibbons & Simon Jones & Alistair McGuire, 2011. "Does Hospital Competition Save Lives? Evidence From The English NHS Patient Choice Reforms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(554), pages 228-260, August.
    7. Susan Feng Lu & Konstantinos Serfes & Gerard Wedig & Bingxiao Wu, 2021. "Does Competition Improve Service Quality? The Case of Nursing Homes Where Public and Private Payers Coexist," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(10), pages 6493-6512, October.
    8. Piia Pekola & Ismo Linnosmaa & Hennamari Mikkola, 2017. "Competition and quality in a physiotherapy market with fixed prices," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 18(1), pages 97-117, January.
    9. Brekke, Kurt R. & Canta, Chiara & Siciliani, Luigi & Straume, Odd Rune, 2021. "Hospital competition in a national health service: Evidence from a patient choice reform," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    10. Siciliani, Luigi & Straume, Odd Rune, 2019. "Competition and equity in health care markets," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-14.
    11. Y. J. F. M. Krabbe-Alkemade & T. L. C. M. Groot & M. Lindeboom, 2017. "Competition in the Dutch hospital sector: an analysis of health care volume and cost," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 18(2), pages 139-153, March.
    12. Lu, Liyong & Pan, Jay, 2019. "The association of hospital competition with inpatient costs of stroke: Evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 234-245.
    13. Francesco Longo & Luigi Siciliani & Giuseppe Moscelli & Hugh Gravelle, 2019. "Does hospital competition improve efficiency? The effect of the patient choice reform in England," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 618-640, May.
    14. Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong, 2009. "Hospital Markets and the Effect of Competition on Quality," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2009n17, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    15. Anne-Fleur Roos & Eddy van Doorslaer & Owen O'Donnell & Erik Schut & Marco Varkevisser, 2018. "Does price competition damage healthcare quality?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-040/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    16. Francesco Longo & Luigi Siciliani & Hugh Gravelle & Rita Santos, 2017. "Do hospitals respond to rivals' quality and efficiency? A spatial panel econometric analysis," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(S2), pages 38-62, September.
    17. Westra, Daan & Angeli, Federica & Carree, Martin & Ruwaard, Dirk, 2017. "Understanding competition between healthcare providers: Introducing an intermediary inter-organizational perspective," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 149-157.
    18. R. Halbersma & M. Mikkers & E. Motchenkova & I. Seinen, 2011. "Market structure and hospital–insurer bargaining in the Netherlands," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 12(6), pages 589-603, December.
    19. Giuseppe Moscelli & Hugh Gravelle & Luigi Siciliani, 2016. "Market structure, patient choice and hospital quality for elective patients," Working Papers 139cherp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    20. Hugh Gravelle & Rita Santos & Luigi Siciliani & Rosalind Goudie, 2012. "Hospital Quality Competition Under Fixed Prices," Working Papers 080cherp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hospital competition; Health care quality; Health care cost; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • L30 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:33:y:2015:i:c:p:179-199. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.