An econometric model of health care demand with non-linear pricing

Event Date: 17 February 2016

Time: 4.15pm

Location: Strathclyde Business School, Cathedral Wing (CW) 404b

Speaker: Rainer Winkelmann, University of Zurich and IZA

Abstract: From 2004 to 2012, the German social health insurance levied a co-payment for the first doctor visit in a calendar quarter.   We develop a new model for estimating the effect of such a co-payment on the individual number of visits per quarter. The model combines a one-time increase in the otherwise constant hazard rate determining the timing of doctor visits with a difference-in-differences strategy to identify the reform effect. An extended version of the model accounts for a mismatch between reporting period and calendar quarter. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we do not find an effect of the co-payment on demand for doctor visits.

Published: 9 February 2016