Morley L R, Magnussen J
Applied Economics, (UK), Aug 1998 Vol 30 No 8
Start page: 1089. No of pages: 12

Compares public and private hospitals to find out if ownership has any influence on efficiency. Looks at the Norwegian public system and the Californian private system, where there are similar states of health but very different financing patterns. Tests whether competition forces a convergence between the behaviour of private and public hospitals, or whether market failure means private hospitals are inefficient. Looks at number of beds, medical hours worked and case mix, using data envelopment analysis on one fiscal year’s results (1991 in California, 1993 in Norway) for Norwegian public hospitals, Californian non-profit urban and rural, and Californian for-profit hospitals. Finds that Norwegian hospitals utilize capital better and have higher scale efficiency. Warns that varying the case-mix can lead to different results. Concludes that high US health costs are partly due to economic waste.

Subject(s): HOSPITALS, EFFICIENCY, PUBLIC SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR, NORWAY, USA, CALIFORNIA
Database: AFA: Accounting & Finance Abstracts
Style: Theoretical with application in practice. Reference: 27AY262

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