This discussion paper resulted in an article in the <I>Journal of Health Economics</I>. Volume 31, issue 4, pages 676-689.<P> We propose a method of measuring and decomposing inequity in health care utilisation that allows for heterogeneity in the use-need relationship. This makes explicit inequity that...</p></i>

This discussion paper resulted in an article in <I>Journal of Health Economics</I> (2013). Volume 32, issue 6, pages 1180-93.<P> Public providers have no financial incentive to respect their legal obligation to exempt the poor from user fees. Health Equity Funds (HEFs) aim to make exemptions effective by...</p></i>

Does medical insurance affect health care demand and in the end contribute to improvements in the health status? Evidence for China for the year 2004, by means of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), shows that health insurance does not affect health care demand in a significant manner....

We estimate the impact on health care utilization and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures of a major reform in Thailand that extended health insurance to one-quarter of the population to achieve universal coverage while keeping health spending below 4% of GDP. Identification is through comparison...

We examine the effect of publicly provided health care on welfare by combining local level data on public health care, and individual level data on life satisfaction. It is shown that relatively high expenditures in health care have a positive effect on individuals' life satisfaction in our...

We exploit an age discontinuity in a Dutch disability insurance (DI) reform to identify the health impact of stricter eligibility criteria and reduced generosity. Women subject to the more stringent rule experience greater rates of hospitalization and mortality. A €1,000 reduction in annual...

This discussion led to a publication in the 'Journal of Health Economics', 2013, 32, 6, 1214–1229.<P> During the last decades, China has experienced double-digit economic growth rates and rising inequality. This paper implements a new decomposition on the China Health and Nutrition panel Survey...</p>

In this paper we hypothesize that education is associated with a higher efficiency of health investment, yet that this efficiency advantage is solely driven by intelligence. We operationalize efficiency of health investment as the probability of dying conditional on a certain hospital diagnosis,...

This discussion paper resulted in a chapter in: (Pedro Rosa Dias and Owen O’Donnell (eds)) 'Research on Economic Inequality', Volume 21: Health and Inequality, Emerald Group Publishing, 2013.<P> We explore what health-capital theory has to offer in terms of informing and directing research into...</p>

We apply the theory of inequality in opportunity to measure inequity in mortality. Ourempirical work is based on a rich dataset for the Netherlands (1998-2007), linking informationabout mortality, health events and lifestyles. We show that distinguishing between differentchannels via which...