This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The Australian Private Health Insurance Boom: Was It Subsidies Or Liberalised?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Ted Frech (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Sandra Hopkins (School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University of Technology)
Gary MacDonald (School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University of Technology)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Over the period 1997 to 2000, the Australian government introduced two waves of price subsidies, then liberalised regulation to encourage private health insurance. Most of the increase in coverage occurred after the liberalization. Thus, it appears that this policy change rather than the earlier subsidies, explains most of the increase. We explore the relative impact of the different policy changes using trend analysis and careful attention to timing. While much of the increase in coverage may be attributed to liberalised regulation, the price subsidy did increase coverage. The increase was commensurate with existing estimates of the price elasticity of demand for health insurance.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=ucsbecon
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara in its series University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series with number wp4-02.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 01 Jan 2000
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cdl:ucsbec:wp4-02

Note: oai:cdlib1:
Contact details of provider:
Postal: 2127 North Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9210
Phone: (805) 893-3670
Fax: (805) 893-8830
Web page: http://repositories.cdlib.org/ucsbecon/dwp/
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords: Australian ; Private ; Health ; Insurance ;

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Jane Hall & Richard De Abreu Lourenco & Rosalie Viney, 1999. "Carrots and sticks-the fall and fall of private health insurance in Australia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(8), pages 653-660.
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jongsay Yong & Alfons Palangkaraya, 2004. "Discerning the Effects of Recent Private Health Insurance Policy Changes in Australia," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 183, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  2. Jongsay Yong & Alfons Palangkaraya & Elizabeth Webster & Peter Dawkins, 2006. "The Income Distributive Implications of Recent Private Health Insurance Policies in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2006n02, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
  3. Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong, 2004. "How Effective is Lifetime Health Cover in Raising Private Health Insurance Coverage in Australia? An Assessment Using Regression Discontinuity," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2004n33, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Alfons Palangkaraya & Jongsay Yong, 2004. "Effects of Recent Carrot-and-Stick Policy Initiatives on Private Health Insurance Coverage in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2004n20, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS also indexes book chapters.

This page was last updated on 2009-10-20.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.