Do Markets Deliver? Competition and Choice in European Healthcare Markets

Carol Propper

No 2026-07, Working Papers from Centre for Health Economics, Monash University

Abstract: In the last two decades European policy makers have sought to increase the use of market mechanisms in the delivery of healthcare. These reforms introduce competition and choice into previously heavily constrained environments. This leads to a set of interesting economic issues that have been addressed in a range of papers, both theoretical and empirical. This paper examines whether this popular reform model has resulted in improvements in outcomes for patients and/or taxpayers. It synthesises the existing economic analyses, highlights what is known and what is not, and signals potential next steps for economic research.

Keywords: Choice; competition; healthcare markets; policy reform (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H42 H44 I11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07-14
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