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Estimating Heterogeneity in the Benefits of Medical Treatment Intensity

Author

Listed:
  • William N. Evans

    (Department of Economics, University of Notre Dame)

  • Craig Garthwaite

    (Department of Management and Strategy, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University)

Abstract

We exploit increases in postpartum length of stay generated by legislative changes in the late 1990s to identify the impact of greater hospital care on the health of newborns. Using all births in California over the 1995–2000 period, two-stage least-square estimates show that increased treatment intensity had a modest impact on readmission probabilities for the average newborn. Allowing the treatment effect to vary by two objective measures of medical need demonstrates that the law had large impacts for those with the greatest likelihood of a readmission. The results suggest that the returns to average and marginal patients vary considerably in this context. © 2012 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • William N. Evans & Craig Garthwaite, 2012. "Estimating Heterogeneity in the Benefits of Medical Treatment Intensity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(3), pages 635-649, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:94:y:2012:i:3:p:635-649
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    3. Dzhamilya Nigmatulina & Charles Becker, 2016. "Is high-tech care in a middle-income country worth it?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 24(4), pages 585-620, October.
    4. Sievertsen, Hans Henrik & Wüst, Miriam, 2017. "Discharge on the day of birth, parental response and health and schooling outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 121-138.
    5. Mindy Marks & Moonkyung Kate Choi, 2019. "Baby Boomlets and Baby Health: Hospital Crowdedness, Hospital Spending, and Infant Health," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 5(3), pages 376-406, Summer.
    6. Daysal, N. Meltem & Trandafir, Mircea & van Ewijk, Reyn, 2016. "Heterogeneous Effects of Medical Interventions on the Health of Low-Risk Newborns," IZA Discussion Papers 9810, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Mindy Marks & Kate Choi, 2011. "Baby Boomlets and Baby Health: Hospital Crowdedness, Treatment Intensity, and Infant Health," Working Papers 201440, University of California at Riverside, Department of Economics.
    8. David B. Audretsch, 2015. "Knowledge spillovers and future jobs," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 218-218, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    hospital stay; hospital care; birth; newborns;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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