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Provision of health care services and regional diversity in Germany: insights from a Bayesian health frontier analysis with spatial dependencies

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  • Rouven Edgar Haschka

    (Georg-August University of Göttingen)

  • Katharina Schley

    (Georg-August University of Göttingen)

  • Helmut Herwartz

    (Georg-August University of Göttingen)

Abstract

The German health care system is among the most patient-oriented systems in Europe. Nevertheless, distinct utilisation patterns, access barriers due to socio-economic profiles, and potentials of misallocation of medical resources lead to disparities in the provision of health care services. We analyse how a possible over- and undersupply of services and the utilisation of and the access to the health care system relate to regional variations in the population’s well-being. For this purpose, we employ a recent Bayesian stochastic frontier approach that allows for spatial dependence structures. Our results indicate that patient migration plays an important role in contributing to regional differences in the utilisation of the medical infrastructure. As a consequence, policy should take spatial patterns of health care utilisation into account to improve the allocation of medical resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Rouven Edgar Haschka & Katharina Schley & Helmut Herwartz, 2020. "Provision of health care services and regional diversity in Germany: insights from a Bayesian health frontier analysis with spatial dependencies," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(1), pages 55-71, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:21:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10198-019-01111-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-019-01111-9
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health production; Health efficiency; Stochastic frontier analysis; Oversupply of medical services; Regional misallocation; Bayesian estimation; Regional and spatial modelling; Markov-chain–Monte Carlo simulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

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