This paper analyzes the patient characteristics that affect the choice between public and private health care providers in Istanbul, Turkey. In addition to socioeconomic variables, such as insurance status or income, which have often been considered in the previous literature, we also focus on another factor, the availability of social networks, which might determine ease of access to hospital services in developing countries. The analysis is based on data from a household survey conducted in Istanbul. The econometric results indicate that potential social ties play an important role in choosing public health care centers over private ones for minor health problems. As public facilities have long been characterized by long waiting lines even for appointments for medical exams, this finding indicates that households who possess higher levels of social networks might be using those in easing access to public facilities.
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Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number
6093.
Find related papers by JEL classification: D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
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