Waiting times are a major policy concern in publicly-funded health systems across OECD countries. Economists have argued that, in the presence of excess demand, waiting times act as non-monetary prices to bring demand for and supply of health care in equilibrium. Using administrative data disaggregated by region and surgical procedure over 2010-2014 in Italy, we estimate demand and supply elasticities with respect to waiting times. We employ linear regression models with first-differences and instrumental variables to deal with endogeneity of waiting times. We find that demand is inelastic to waiting times while supply is more elastic. Estimates of demand elasticity are between -0.15 to -0.24. Our results have implications on the effectiveness of policies aimed at increasing supply and their ability to reduce waiting times.

The Effect of Waiting Times on Demand and Supply for Elective Surgery: Evidence from Italy / A. Riganti, L. Siciliani, C. Fiorio. ((Intervento presentato al 5. convegno Health Econometrics Workshop tenutosi a Bari nel 2016.

The Effect of Waiting Times on Demand and Supply for Elective Surgery: Evidence from Italy

A. Riganti
;
C. Fiorio
Primo
2016

Abstract

Waiting times are a major policy concern in publicly-funded health systems across OECD countries. Economists have argued that, in the presence of excess demand, waiting times act as non-monetary prices to bring demand for and supply of health care in equilibrium. Using administrative data disaggregated by region and surgical procedure over 2010-2014 in Italy, we estimate demand and supply elasticities with respect to waiting times. We employ linear regression models with first-differences and instrumental variables to deal with endogeneity of waiting times. We find that demand is inelastic to waiting times while supply is more elastic. Estimates of demand elasticity are between -0.15 to -0.24. Our results have implications on the effectiveness of policies aimed at increasing supply and their ability to reduce waiting times.
22-lug-2016
Waiting Times; Elective Surgery; Demand; Supply
Settore SECS-P/01 - Economia Politica
Settore SECS-P/06 - Economia Applicata
Università degli Studi di Bari
Brunel University London
Università degli Studi di Bergamo
Centro di Ricerca Interuniversitario Servizi di Pubblica Utilità
The Effect of Waiting Times on Demand and Supply for Elective Surgery: Evidence from Italy / A. Riganti, L. Siciliani, C. Fiorio. ((Intervento presentato al 5. convegno Health Econometrics Workshop tenutosi a Bari nel 2016.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/474186
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