Competition and provider incentives in health care markets

Developed countries are turning to market-based provision of health services in search for more efficient solutions. Markets for health services are, however, hampered by market failures, placing a large premium on an improved understanding of how market-based solutions increase efficiency, if at all. We study competition and provider choice using detailed Finnish health care data.

Another objective is to further our understanding of how public procurement for health care works. Using data on Finnish public procurement of health and social services we will study questions related to competition, or the lack thereof, among providers, and the effect of procurer characteristics on outcomes. Finally, we are also interested in the important but hard-to-study question of physician incentives. We will utilize detailed data on Finnish physicians who work in both public and private sector, their prescription behavior, and their patients.

The research is funded by: Academy of Finland

Partner: Aalto University

Responsible researcher: Kaisa Kotakorpi, [email protected], +358 295 519 422