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Informal payments for health care – the phenomenon and its context

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  • Cohen, Nissim

Abstract

This paper reviews current research and literature on the issue of informal payments for health care and its context and suggests a new perspective for a better understanding of this phenomenon. This perspective, based on political culture and behavior and on wider social processes, is already used to explain various phenomena from different fields of public policy. The paper explains the impact of a specific type of political culture, called ‘alternative politics’ (AP) in the Israeli literature, on healthcare policy and institutional healthcare settings. AP is based on a ‘do-it-yourself’ approach adopted by citizens to address their dissatisfaction with governmental services. When such a mode of political culture is diffused to all sectors and levels of society, all players, including bureaucrats and politicians, are guided by short-term considerations and apply unilateral strategies that bypass formal rules either through illegal activity or by marginalizing formal rules. Explaining informal payments by analyzing social processes and political culture and behavior has some disadvantages, but it provides us with a better understanding of the phenomenon while covering most of its characteristics and configurations.

Suggested Citation

  • Cohen, Nissim, 2012. "Informal payments for health care – the phenomenon and its context," Health Economics, Policy and Law, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(3), pages 285-308, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:hecopl:v:7:y:2012:i:03:p:285-308_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Franić Josip & Kojouharov Anton, 2019. "Informal payments by patients in Croatia: benign custom or detrimental residue from socialism?," Croatian Review of Economic, Business and Social Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 5(2), pages 49-63, December.
    2. Arsenijevic, Jelena & Pavlova, Milena & Groot, Wim, 2015. "Out-of-pocket payments for health care in Serbia," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(10), pages 1366-1374.
    3. Baji, Petra & Rubashkin, Nicholas & Szebik, Imre & Stoll, Kathrin & Vedam, Saraswathi, 2017. "Informal cash payments for birth in Hungary: Are women paying to secure a known provider, respect, or quality of care?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 86-95.
    4. Yair Zalmanovitch & Nissim Cohen, 2015. "The pursuit of political will: politicians' motivation and health promotion," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 31-44, January.
    5. Nissim Cohen & Dani Filc, 2017. "An alternative way of understanding exit, voice and loyalty: the case of informal payments for health care in Israel," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 72-90, January.
    6. Cohen, Nissim & Rubinchik, Anna & Shami, Labib, 2020. "Towards a cashless economy: Economic and socio-political implications," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    7. Williams, Colin C. & Horodnic, Adrian V., 2017. "Rethinking informal payments by patients in Europe: An institutional approach," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(10), pages 1053-1062.

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