Using the consumption expenditure data, National Sample Survey, 2009–2010, this paper test the hypothesis that the monthly per capita household health spending of elderly households is significantly higher than non-elderly households in India. The households are classified into three mutually...

We examine the impact of removing user fees for healthcare in rural Ghana using data from a randomized experiment that includes rich information on objective measures of child health status. We find that free care increased use of formal healthcare shifting care seeking away from informal...

Financial incentives are increasingly being advocated as an effective means to influence health-related behaviours. There is, however, limited evidence on whether they work in low-income countries, particularly when implemented at scale. This paper explores the impact of a national programme in...

Despite a tremendous increase in financial resources, many countries are not on track to achieve the child and maternal mortality targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. It is commonly argued that two main social factors - improved democratic governance and aggregate income...

Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is increasingly important in public health decision making, including in low- and middle-income countries. The decision makers’ valuation of a unit of health gain, or ceiling ratio (λ), is important in CEA as the relative value against which acceptability is...

This article examines the existence of price discrimination for obstetric services in two private hospitals in Bangladesh, and considers the welfare consequences of such discrimination, i.e. whether or not price discrimination benefited the poorer users. Data on 1212 normal and caesarean section...

Illness is a major risk to people's livelihoods in resource-poor settings, particularly where there are rising levels of chronic illness. Measures that improve access to treatment are increasingly seen as a vital form of social protection for vulnerable households, and central to the achievement...

When the Thai universal coverage (UC) scheme was established, the government decided to exclude renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients from the benefit package, though RRT was included in two other public health insurance schemes. Access to RRT for UC members...