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Public Sector Rationing and Private Sector Selection

Author

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  • Simona Grassi

    (European University Institute, Max Weber Programme)

  • Ching-to Albert Ma

    (Department of Economics, Boston University)

Abstract

We study the interaction between a public sector and a private sector in the provision of a private good. Under a limited budget, the public supplier uses a rationing policy. A private ?rm may supply the good to those consumers who are rationed by the public system. Consumers have di¤erent amounts of wealth, and costs of providing the good to them vary. We consider two information regimes: First, the public supplier observes only wealth information; second, the public supplier observes both wealth and cost information. The public supplier chooses a rationing policy based on its information; simultaneously, the private firm, observing only cost but not wealth information, chooses a pricing policy. In the first information regime, there is a continuum of equilibria; in each, rich consumers are rationed, and the private firm sells to these rationed consumers at high prices. In the second regime, there is a unique equilibrium. The public supplier allocates the good to consumers according to a cost-e¤ectiveness rule. In the equilibrium, rationed consumers have high costs relative to the bene?t, and the rationing rule is the same as if the private market were inactive.

Suggested Citation

  • Simona Grassi & Ching-to Albert Ma, 2009. "Public Sector Rationing and Private Sector Selection," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series wp2009-a, Boston University - Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:bos:wpaper:wp2009-a
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Grassi, Simona & Ma, Ching-to Albert, 2011. "Optimal public rationing and price response," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1197-1206.
    2. 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.
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    11. Simona Grassi & Ching-to Albert Ma, 2008. "Rationing Poor Consumers to Reduce Prices," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series wp2008-015, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    12. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rosella Levaggi & Marcello Montefiori, 2013. "Patient selection in a mixed oligopoly market for health care: the role of the soft budget constraint," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 60(1), pages 49-70, March.
    2. Ifzal Ahmad, 2017. "Understanding Internal, External and Relational Attributions in Reaction to Corporate Social Responsibility," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 9(4), pages 49-64, December.
    3. Simona Grassi & Ching-to Albert Ma, 2008. "Rationing Poor Consumers to Reduce Prices," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series wp2008-015, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    4. Laine, Liisa T. & Ma, Ching-to Albert, 2017. "Quality and competition between public and private firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 336-353.
    5. Simona Grassi & Ching-to Ma, 2010. "Subsidy design: wealth versus benefits," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 49-72, September.
    6. Grassi, Simona & Ma, Ching-to Albert, 2011. "Optimal public rationing and price response," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1197-1206.
    7. Liu, Ting & Albert Ma, Ching-to & Mak, Henry Y., 2018. "Incentives for motivated experts in a partnership," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 296-313.
    8. Glazer, Jacob & McGuire, Thomas G., 2013. "Making Medicare advantage a middle-class program," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 463-473.
    9. Vesa Kanniainen & Juha Laine & Ismo Linnosmaa, 2019. "Pricing the Pharmaceuticals when the Ability to Pay Differs: Taking Vertical Equity Seriously," CESifo Working Paper Series 8031, CESifo.
    10. Chiara Canta, 2021. "Efficiency, access, and the mixed delivery of health care services," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 23(3), pages 510-533, June.
    11. Putnam, Joshua T., 2015. "A simple approach to projecting the electoral college," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 910-915.
    12. Andrew, Jane & Cahill, Damien, 2017. "Rationalising and resisting neoliberalism: The uneven geography of costs," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 12-28.
    13. Yang, Ou & Chan, Marc K. & Cheng, Terence C. & Yong, Jongsay, 2020. "Cream skimming: Theory and evidence from hospital transfers and capacity utilization," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 68-87.

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