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Measuring Efficiency of Health Systems of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region Using Stochastic Frontier Analysis

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  • Samer Hamidi

    (Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart University)

  • Fevzi Akinci

    (The William G. McGowan School of Business, King’s College)

Abstract

Objective The main purpose of this study is to measure the technical efficiency of twenty health systems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to inform evidence-based health policy decisions. In addition, the effects of alternative stochastic frontier model specification on the empirical results are examined. Methods We conducted a stochastic frontier analysis to estimate the country-level technical efficiencies using secondary panel data for 20 MENA countries for the period of 1995–2012 from the World Bank database. We also tested the effect of alternative frontier model specification using three random-effects approaches: a time-invariant model where efficiency effects are assumed to be static with regard to time, and a time-varying efficiency model where efficiency effects have temporal variation, and one model to account for heterogeneity. Results The average estimated technical inefficiency of health systems in the MENA region was 6.9 % with a range of 5.7–7.9 % across the three models. Among the top performers, Lebanon, Qatar, and Morocco are ranked consistently high according to the three different inefficiency model specifications. On the opposite side, Sudan, Yemen and Djibouti ranked among the worst performers. On average, the two most technically efficient countries were Qatar and Lebanon. We found that the estimated technical efficiency scores vary substantially across alternative parametric models. Conclusion Based on the findings reported in this study, most MENA countries appear to be operating, on average, with a reasonably high degree of technical efficiency compared with other countries in the region. However, there is evidence to suggest that there are considerable efficiency gains yet to be made by some MENA countries. Additional empirical research is needed to inform future health policies aimed at improving both the efficiency and sustainability of the health systems in the MENA region.

Suggested Citation

  • Samer Hamidi & Fevzi Akinci, 2016. "Measuring Efficiency of Health Systems of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region Using Stochastic Frontier Analysis," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 337-347, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:aphecp:v:14:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s40258-016-0230-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s40258-016-0230-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Youssef Er-Rays & Meriem M'dioud, 2024. "Evaluating the Financial Factors Influencing Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Africa," Papers 2402.14939, arXiv.org.
    2. Angelo Castaldo & Maria Alessandra Antonelli & Valeria De Bonis & Giorgia Marini, 2020. "Determinants of health sector efficiency: evidence from a two-step analysis on 30 OECD countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1651-1666.
    3. Iyad Dhaoui, 2019. "Healthcare system efficiency and its determinants: A two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) from MENA countries," Working Papers 1320, Economic Research Forum, revised 21 Aug 2019.

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