It could be worse...it could be raining: Ambulance response time and health outcomes

Elena Lucchese

No 429, Working Papers from University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics

Abstract: Ambulance response time to emergency calls is a key indicator of a health system's efficiency although its impact on health is not precisely known. This causal relation is identified by exploiting rainfall at the time of the ambulance run as a shock to responsiveness. The elasticity of the likelihood of a severe cardiovascular condition with respect to response time is 0.9 and that of the likelihood of death before reaching the hospital is 5. Finally, the economic value of time is quantified, and it is shown that improving the ambulance's ability to locate the scene would substantially increase efficiency.

Keywords: efficiency; response time; health; policy. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C26 I18 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53
Date: 2020-02, Revised 2020-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-ore
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mib:wpaper:429

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