In health economics and health care planning, the observation that age cohorts are generally positively correlated with per capita health expenditures is often cited as evidence that population ageing is the main driver of health care costs. Several recent studies, however, challenge this view....

In this paper, local relationship between per capita health expenditure and GDP is investigated with local quantile regressions. The advantage of using local quantile regressions is the assumption of homogeneity on per capita health care expenditure could be relaxed so that number of countries...

This paper utilizes a nonparametric panel data sample selection model to correct selection bias in the analysis of longitudinal medical claims data. Selection bias in the health economics data is a common problem and many health economists have used Heckman type selection models in...

In this paper, we analyze the strength and nature of bequest motives in the United States using data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The results of our analysis suggest that bequest motives are very strong in the United States and that they are altruistically motivated. This...

This paper analyzes a unique dataset, which contains results of a large-scale experiment in the credit card market. Two strange phenomena that suggest time inconsistency in consumer behavior are observed: First, consumers prefer an introductory offer which has a lower interest rate with a...

This paper investigates how conditional quantiles of a given distribution relate to each other. Given two conditional quantiles estimated nonparametrically, we investigate their relation by linking them through a parametric transformation. Asymptotic normality of the associated parameter vector...

The Australian government implemented several new policy initiatives during 1997--2000, with the stated aim of raising the take-up rate of private health insurance. Taken together, these policy initiatives were quite effective, the proportion of the population with private health insurance cover...

We examine the question of which household members should consume medical services, and in what quantities, by using Japanese household-level data. We employ two key concepts, health risk and income risk, and investigate whether family heads or dependents bear these risks. Health risk is the...

This paper proposes a test for the existence of placebo effects, as described by the so-called expectancy theory. This theory, which is the dominant medical theory of how placebo effects operate, posits that health outcomes rise in individuals' beliefs about the probability that they are getting...

We analyze the impact of liability risks for malpractice on the optimal reimbursement schemes for hospitals. In our model, the hospital decides upon two unobservable efforts, a cost reduction effort and a quality improvement effort. We assume that the total effort is positive even without...