Regional Maldistribution of China’s Hospitals Based on Their Structural System

Lie Ma, Qiu Xie, Shiying Shi, Xiaosu Ye and Aifeng Zhao
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Lie Ma: School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Qiu Xie: School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Shiying Shi: School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Xiaosu Ye: School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Aifeng Zhao: Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: Health equity is significant for social sustainability and the Chinese government is trying to achieve the goals of “universal access to basic health care services”. As the comprehensive carrier of health care services, hospitals are almost the most important health care resources and their regional maldistribution needs to give a special concern for health justice and social sustainability. This study aims to explore regional maldistribution of various hospitals through constructing, decomposing and calculating per capita hospitals Gini Coefficient based on the unique structural system of China’s hospitals from 2003–2014. Results show that: (1) the level of regional maldistribution of hospitals in China is not too serious in terms of quantity and there is a slight decline in recent years; (2) regional maldistribution of hospitals is mainly from General Hospitals and in inland areas; and (3) the slight decrease of regional maldistribution is mainly caused by Concentration Effect and increased per capita hospitals. Based on empirical results and the reality of China, some targeted policy suggestions are proposed to reduce regional maldistribution of hospitals and promote health equity for social sustainable development.

Keywords: regional maldistribution; hospital; social sustainability; health justice; Gini Coefficient; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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