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Scale and scope economies in nursing homes: A quantile regression approach

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  • Eric W. Christensen

Abstract

Nursing homes vary widely between facilities with very few beds and facilities with several hundred beds. Previous studies, which estimate nursing home scale and scope economies, do not account for this heterogeneity and implicitly assume that all nursing homes face the same cost structure. To account for heterogeneity, this paper uses quantile regression to estimate cost functions for skilled and intermediate care nursing homes. The results show that the parameters of nursing home cost functions vary significantly by output mix and across the cost distribution. Estimates show that product‐specific scale economies systematically increase across the cost distribution for both skilled and intermediate care facilities, with diseconomies of scale in the lower deciles and no significant scale economies in the higher deciles. As for ray scale economies, estimates show economies of scale in the lower deciles and diseconomies of scale or no significant scale economies at higher deciles. The estimates also show that scope economies exist in the lower cost deciles and that no scope economies exist in the higher cost deciles. Additionally, the degree of scope economies monotonically decreases across the deciles. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric W. Christensen, 2004. "Scale and scope economies in nursing homes: A quantile regression approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(4), pages 363-377, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:13:y:2004:i:4:p:363-377
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.828
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Ferreira, D.C. & Marques, R.C. & Nunes, A.M., 2018. "Economies of scope in the health sector: The case of Portuguese hospitals," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 266(2), pages 716-735.
    4. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L. & Edeh, Hyacinth O., 2020. "Effects of agricultural mechanization on economies of scope in crop production in Nigeria," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    5. Lukas Kwietniewski & Mareike Heimeshoff & Jonas Schreyögg, 2017. "Estimation of a physician practice cost function," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 18(4), pages 481-494, May.
    6. Kao, Chiang & Pang, Rui-Zhi & Liu, Shiang-Tai & Bai, Xue-Jie, 2021. "Optimal expansion paths for hospitals of different types: Viewpoint of scope economies and evidence from Chinese hospitals," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 289(2), pages 628-638.
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    8. George Elias, 2016. "Benchmarking Heterogeneous Distribution System Operators: Evidence from Norway," Diskussionsschriften dp1606, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
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