Does hospital competition harm equity? Evidence from the English National Health Service

Richard Cookson, Mauro Laudicella and Paolo Li Donni ()

Journal of Health Economics, 2013, vol. 32, issue 2, 410-422

Abstract: Increasing evidence shows that hospital competition under fixed prices can improve quality and reduce cost. Concerns remain, however, that competition may undermine socio-economic equity in the utilisation of care. We test this hypothesis in the context of the pro-competition reforms of the English National Health Service progressively introduced from 2004 to 2006. We use a panel of 32,482 English small areas followed from 2003 to 2008 and a difference in differences approach. The effect of competition on equity is identified by the interaction between market structure, small area income deprivation and year. We find a negative association between market competition and elective admissions in deprived areas. The effect of pro-competition reform was to reduce this negative association slightly, suggesting that competition did not undermine equity.

Keywords: Competition; Hospital; Inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 L3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Working Paper: Does hospital competition harm equity? Evidence from the English National Health Service (2013)
Working Paper: Does hospital competition harm equity? Evidence from the English National Health Service (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:32:y:2013:i:2:p:410-422

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2012.11.009

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