Relative Efficiency of Health Provision: A DEA Approach with Non-Discretionary Inputs

Afonso, António; St. Aubyn, Miguel

doi:10.2139/ssrn.952629

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Relative Efficiency of Health Provision: A DEA Approach with Non-Discretionary Inputs

ISEG-UTL Economics Working Paper No. 33/2006/DE/UECE

32 Pages Posted: 27 Dec 2006

See all articles by António Afonso

António Afonso

ISEG Lisbon School of Economics and Management,Universidade de Lisboa; UECE (Research Unit on Complexity and Economics); REM - Research in Economics and Mathematics

Miguel St. Aubyn

Technical University of Lisbon - ISEG (School of Economics and Management); UECE (Research Unit on Complexity and Economics)

Date Written: December 2006

Abstract

We estimate a semi-parametric model of health production process using a two-stage approach for OECD countries. By regressing data envelopment analysis output efficiency scores on non-discretionary variables, both using Tobit analysis and a single and double bootstrap procedure, we show that inefficiency is strongly related to GDP per head, the education level, and health behaviour such as obesity and smoking habits. The used bootstrapping procedure corrects likely biased DEA output scores taking into account that environmental variables are correlated to output and input variables.

Keywords: technical efficiency, health, DEA, bootstrap, semi-parametric

JEL Classification: C14, C61, H52, I11

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Afonso, António and St. Aubyn, Miguel, Relative Efficiency of Health Provision: A DEA Approach with Non-Discretionary Inputs (December 2006). ISEG-UTL Economics Working Paper No. 33/2006/DE/UECE, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=952629 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.952629