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Measuring and comparing the (in)efficiency of German and Swiss hospitals

Author

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  • Steinmann, Lukas
  • Dittrich, Gunnar
  • Karmann, Alexander
  • Zweifel, Peter

Abstract

A nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is performed on hospitals in the federal state of Saxony (Germany) and in Switzerland. This study is of interest from three points of view. First, contrary to most existing work, patient days are not treated as an output but as an input. Second, the usual DEA assumption of a homogeneous sample is tested and rejected for a large part of the observations. The proposed solution is to restrict DEA to comparable observations in the two countries. Finally, hospital beds are treated as a discretionary input in one DEA and as a fixed input in the other, and the effect on efficiency is related to differences in hospital planning in Germany and Switzerland. Based on the comparable observations, hospitals of Saxony have higher efficiency scores than their Swiss counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Steinmann, Lukas & Dittrich, Gunnar & Karmann, Alexander & Zweifel, Peter, 2003. "Measuring and comparing the (in)efficiency of German and Swiss hospitals," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 16/03, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:tuddps:1603
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    2. James F. Burgess, Jr. & Paul W. Wilson, 1996. "Hospital Ownership and Technical Inefficiency," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(1), pages 110-123, January.
    3. L. Steinmann & P. Zweifel, 2003. "On the (in)efficiency of Swiss hospitals," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 361-370.
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    Cited by:

    1. Björn A. Kuchinke & Ansgar Wübker, 2009. "Defizite von öffentlichen Allgemeinkrankenhäusern in Deutschland: Empirische Befunde von 1998 bis 2004 und wirtschaftspolitische Implikationen," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 10(3), pages 290-308, August.
    2. Annika Frohloff, 2007. "Cost and Technical Efficiency of German Hospitals – A Stochastic Frontier Analysis," Ruhr Economic Papers 0002, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    3. repec:zbw:rwirep:0002 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International efficiency comparison; Hospitals; Data Envelopment Analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis

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