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Evaluating the redistributive impact of public health expenditure using an insurance value approach

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  • Amedeo Spadaro
  • Lucia Mangiavacchi

    ()

  • Ignacio Moral-Arce
  • Marta Adiego-Estella
  • Angela Blanco-Moreno

Abstract

This article analyses the redistributive impact of public health expenditure in Spain using an insurance value approach to compute individual and household’s value of health services non-cash benefit. We model the intensity of use of different health care services using a count data framework on a nationally representative health care survey and then predict probabilities on the 2006 Spanish EU-SILC sample. This allows us to extend disposable income with the expected monetary value of public health services and to compare it with strictly cash income. Since non-cash income due to public health services is associated with health needs, we use needs-adjusted equivalence scales to perform distributional analysis and poverty/inequality comparisons. The results show that public health expenditure in Spain acts progressively on income distribution, and that health in-kind benefits, once considered as part of disposable income, can be extremely effective in reducing poverty and inequality. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Amedeo Spadaro & Lucia Mangiavacchi & Ignacio Moral-Arce & Marta Adiego-Estella & Angela Blanco-Moreno, 2013. "Evaluating the redistributive impact of public health expenditure using an insurance value approach," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 14(5), pages 775-787, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:14:y:2013:i:5:p:775-787
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-012-0423-6
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    1. Vanesa Jorda & Jose M. Alonso, 2020. "What works to mitigate and reduce relative (and absolute) inequality?: A systematic review," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-152, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health equity; Health insurance; Extended income; In-kind transfers; Income distribution; Needs adjustment; H44; H51; I18; I38; J24;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H44 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets
    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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