Discussion Papers no. 890
Regional variation in healthcare utilization and mortality
Geographic variation in healthcare utilization has raised concerns of possible inefficiencies in healthcare supply, as differences are often not reflected in health outcomes.
Using comprehensive Norwegian microdata, we exploit cross-region migration to analyze regional variation in healthcare utilization. Our results indicate that hospital region factors account for half of the total variation, while the rest reflect variation in patient demand. We find no statistically significant association between the estimated hospital region effects and overall mortality rates. However, we document a negative association with relative utilization-intensive causes of death such as cancer, suggesting high-supply regions may achieve modestly improved health outcomes.
About the publication
- Title
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Regional variation in healthcare utilization and mortality
- Author
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Anna Godøy and Ingrid Huitfeldt
- Series and number
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Discussion Papers no. 890
- Publisher
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Statistisk sentralbyrå
- Topic
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Discussion Papers
- ISSN
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1892-753X
- About Discussion Papers
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Discussion papers comprise research papers intended for international journals and books. A preprint of a Discussion Paper may be longer and more elaborate than a standard journal article as it may include intermediate calculations, background material etc.
Contact
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Statistics Norway's Information Centre