The Demand for Physician Services. Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Bart Leo Wim Cockx () and Carine BRASSEUR

No 2001027, Discussion Papers (IRES - Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales) from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: This study exploits a natural experiment in Belgium to estimate the effect of co-payment increases on the demand for physician services. It shows how a differences-in-differences estimator of the price effects can be decomposed into effects induced by the common average proportional price increase (income effects) and by the change in relative prices (substitution effects). The price elasticity of a uniform proportional price increase is relatively small (-.13 for mean and -.03 for woman). Substitution effects are large, especially for women, but imprecisely estimated. Despite the substantial price increases, the efficiency gain of the reform, if any, is modest

Keywords: health care; physician service; co-payment; moral hazard; demand system; differences-in-differences estimator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 D12 I11 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-mic
Date: 2001-10-01
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Journal Article: The demand for physician services: Evidence from a natural experiment (2003)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvir:2001027

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