This paper evaluates the effect of excise taxes and bans on smoking in public places on the exposure to tobacco smoke of non-smokers. We use a novel way of quantifying passive smoking: we use data on cotinine concentration - a metabolite of nicotine - measured in a large population of...

We study the impact of a mixed capitation model known as the Family Health Organization (FHO) on selected quality and quantity outcomes relative to an enhanced fee-for-service model known as the Family Health Group (FHG) among primary care physicians in Ontario, Canada. Using a panel of...

Viruses are a major threat to human health, and - given that they spread through social interactions - represent a costly externality. This paper addresses three main issues: i) what are the unintended consequences of economic activity on the spread of infections? ii) how efficient are measures...

We develop a stylized principal-agent model with moral hazard and adverse selection to provide a unified framework for understanding some of the most salient features of the recent physician payment reform in Ontario and its impact on physician behavior. These features include: (1) physicians...