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Paying informally for public health care in Albania: scarce resources or governance failure?

Author

Listed:
  • Tomini, Sonila

    (UNU-MERIT/MGSoG)

  • Groot, Wim

    (CAPHRI and TIER, Maastricht University)

Abstract

Informal payments for health care are common in most former communist countries. This paper explores the demand side of these payments in Albania. Using tobit and Heckman selection models we control for individual determinants of informal payments in outpatient and inpatient health care. Propensity score matching techniques are used to investigate the changes in the characteristics of people paying informally over the different years. Our findings suggest that vulnerable groups in society remain less protected against such payments and policy measures have not reached the most deprived regions of the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomini, Sonila & Groot, Wim, 2012. "Paying informally for public health care in Albania: scarce resources or governance failure?," MERIT Working Papers 2012-070, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
  • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2012070
    as

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    File URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2012/wp2012-070.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    informal payment; health policy; Heckman selection model; propensity score matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
    • C24 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models; Threshold Regression Models

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