Can Governments Do It Better? Merger Mania and Hospital Outcomes in the English NHS

Martin Gaynor, Mauro Laudicella and Carol Propper

No 17608, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The literature on mergers between private hospitals suggests that such mergers often produce little benefit. Despite this, the UK government has pursued an active policy of hospital merger. These mergers are initiated by a regulator, acting on behalf of the public, and justified on the grounds that merger will improve outcomes. We examine whether this promise is met. We exploit the fact that between 1997 and 2006 in England around half the short term general hospitals were involved in a merger, but that politics means that selection for a merger may be random with respect to future performance. We examine the impact of mergers on a large set of outcomes including financial performance, productivity, waiting times and clinical quality and find little evidence that mergers achieved gains other than a reduction in activity. In addition, mergers reduce the scope for competition between hospitals.

JEL-codes: I11 I18 L13 L32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff and nep-hea
Note: EH
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published as Gaynor, Martin & Laudicella, Mauro & Propper, Carol, 2012. "Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 528-543.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS (2012)
Working Paper: Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS (2012)
Working Paper: Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS (2012)
Working Paper: Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS (2012)
Working Paper: Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS (2012)
Working Paper: Can governments do it better? Merger mania and hospital outcomes in the English NHS (2012)
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