Pricing and Location of Physician Services in Mental Health

35 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2004 Last revised: 22 Aug 2022

See all articles by Richard G. Frank

Richard G. Frank

Harvard Medical School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: December 1984

Abstract

Puzzling results of a positive association between the number of physicians per capita and the level of fees for physician services have been reported in the literature. These results may be due to misspecification of econometric models and use of data aggre-gated across medical specialties. It is hypothesized that the unusual results would not persist with a carefully specified econometric model for a single medical specialty. A general model of pricing and location of physician's services is applied to the market for psychiatrist's services. The results imply that the market for psychiatrist's services operates in a manner consistent with the predictions of the competitive model.

Suggested Citation

Frank, Richard G., Pricing and Location of Physician Services in Mental Health (December 1984). NBER Working Paper No. w1514, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=336278

Richard G. Frank (Contact Author)

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