Regional variation in health care utilization and mortality

Anna Godøy and Ingrid Huitfeldt

Journal of Health Economics, 2020, vol. 71, issue C

Abstract: Geographic variation in health care utilization has raised concerns of possible inefficiencies in health care supply, as differences are often not reflected in health outcomes. Using comprehensive Norwegian microdata, we exploit cross-region migration to analyze regional variation in health care utilization. Our results indicate that place factors account for half of the difference in utilization between high and low utilization regions, while the rest reflects patient demand. We further document heterogeneous impacts of place across socioeconomic groups. Place factors account for 75% of the regional utilization difference for high school dropouts, and 40% for high school graduates; for patients with a college degree, the impact of place is negligible. We find no statistically significant association between the estimated place effects and overall mortality. However, we document a negative association between place effects and utilization-intensive causes of death such as cancer, suggesting high-supply regions may achieve modestly improved health outcomes.

Keywords: Health care supply; Health care demand; Health care spending; Regional variation; Health outcomes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H51 I1 I11 I13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Working Paper: Regional variation in healthcare utilization and mortality (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:71:y:2020:i:c:s0167629619303819

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2019.102254

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