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Competition and Waiting Times in Hospital Markets

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Author Info
Brekke, Kurt Richard
Siciliani, Luigi
Straume, Odd Rune

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Abstract

This paper studies the impact of hospital competition on waiting times. We use a Salop-type model, with hospitals that differ in (geographical) location and, potentially, waiting time, and two types of patients; high-benefit patients who choose between neighbouring hospitals (competitive segment), and low-benefit patients who decide whether or not to demand treatment from the closest hospital (monopoly segment). Compared with a benchmark case of regulated monopolies, we find that hospital competition leads to longer waiting times in equilibrium if the competitive segment is sufficiently large. Given a policy regime of hospital competition, the effect of increased competition depends on the parameter of measurement: Lower travelling costs increase waiting times, higher hospital density reduces waiting times, while the effect of a larger competitive segment is ambiguous. We also show that, if the competitive segment is large, hospital competition is socially preferable to regulated monopolies only if the (regulated) treatment price is sufficiently high.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 6285.

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Date of creation: May 2007
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6285

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Related research
Keywords: competition hospitals waiting times

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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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. Chalkley, Martin & Malcomson, James M., 1998. "Contracting for health services when patient demand does not reflect quality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-19, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Diane Dawson & Hugh Gravelle & Rowena Jacobs & Stephen Martin & Peter C. Smith, 2007. "The effects of expanding patient choice of provider on waiting times: evidence from a policy experiment," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(2), pages 113-128. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Olivella, Pau, 2003. "Shifting public-health-sector waiting lists to the private sector," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 103-132, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Hoel, Michael & Saether, Erik Magnus, 2003. "Public health care with waiting time: the role of supplementary private health care," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 599-616, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Luigi Siciliani & Steve Martin, 2007. "An empirical analysis of the impact of choice on waiting times," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(8), pages 763-779. [Downloadable!]
  8. Daniel P. Kessler & Mark B. McClellan, 2000. "Is Hospital Competition Socially Wasteful?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 115(2), pages 577-615, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Pedro Pita Barros & Pau Olivella, 2005. "Waiting Lists and Patient Selection," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 14(3), pages 623-646, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Martin, Stephen & Rice, Nigel & Jacobs, Rowena & Smith, Peter, 2007. "The market for elective surgery: Joint estimation of supply and demand," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 263-285, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Martin, Stephen & Smith, Peter C., 1999. "Rationing by waiting lists: an empirical investigation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 141-164, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Kurt R. Brekke & Luigi Siciliani & Odd Rune Straume, 2007. "Competition and Waiting Times in Hospital Markets," NIPE Working Papers 9/2007, NIPE - Universidade do Minho. [Downloadable!]
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  14. Lindsay, Cotton M & Feigenbaum, Bernard, 1984. "Rationing by Waiting Lists," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 404-17, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Iversen, Tor, 1997. "The effect of a private sector on the waiting time in a national health service," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 381-396, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Luigi Siciliani, 2005. "Does more choice reduce waiting times?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 17-23. [Downloadable!]
  17. Ellis, Randall P. & McGuire, Thomas G., 1986. "Provider behavior under prospective reimbursement : Cost sharing and supply," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 129-151, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. 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.
  19. Farnworth, Michael G., 2003. "A game theoretic model of the relationship between prices and waiting times," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 47-60, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. repec:rus:hseeco:122140 is not listed on IDEAS
  21. Kurt R. Brekke & Lars Sørgard, 2007. "Public versus private health care in a national health service," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(6), pages 579-601. [Downloadable!]
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(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. Kurt R. Brekke & Luigi Siciliani & Odd Rune Straume, 2007. "Competition and Waiting Times in Hospital Markets," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
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