Performance signals in the public sector: the case of health care

Hugh Gravelle, Peter Smith and Ana Xavier ()

Oxford Economic Papers, 2003, vol. 55, issue 1, 81-103

Abstract: Although there are no traditional markets and money prices in the public sector, consumers and providers may respond to signals of organisational performance. We present a simple dynamic model of the demand and supply for elective surgery in the UK National Health Service in which waiting time acts as the prime indicator of performance. The model is tested using a panel of quarterly data for 123 English health authorities over an eight-year period. We find that supply is increasing and demand is decreasing in measures of the previous period waiting time. The results imply that health care systems which are rationed by waiting do respond to indicators of waiting times. The paper adds to the small but consistent body of research which demonstrates that public sector systems respond to important aspects of reported performance. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2003
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (39)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:55:y:2003:i:1:p:81-103

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Oxford Economic Papers is currently edited by James Forder and Francis J. Teal

More articles in Oxford Economic Papers from Oxford University Press Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().