In this note we explore the welfare properties of the cost effectiveness criterion as an instrument to improve the appropriateness of health care. We show that such instrument is optimal only under specific assumptions relating to the shape of the welfare function and the utility of health care.

Public service provision has undergone a significant process of reform through the reduction of vertical integration in its supply and the introduction of competition. The aim of these reforms is to increase efficiency and ultimately to improve welfare, but these goals can be reached only if the...

In this note we explore the welfare properties of access restrictions to health care based on cost effectiveness. We show that such instrument can improve the average effectiveness of health care, but it is optimal only under specific assumptions relating to the shape of the welfare function and...

Since the seminal work of Oates (1972) on scal federalism, a central question of public finance has been which level of a federation should be as- signed the provision of public goods. In this paper we study the problem of a government that is to choose the optimal...

The paper uses a real option approach to investigate the potential impact of performance-based risk-sharing agreements for the reimbursement of new drugs in comparison with standard cost-effectiveness thresholds. The results show that the exact definition of the risk-sharing agreement is key in...

Patient mobility is a key issue in the EU who recently passed a new law on patients’ right to EU-wide provider choice. In this paper we use a Hotelling model with two regions that differ in technology to study the impact of patient mobility on health care quality, health care financing and...

In a model where health care provision, its regional distribution and the equalisation grant are the result of a utilitarian bargaining between a (relatively) rich region and a poor one, a First Best solution can be reached only if the two Regions have the same bargaining power. From a policy...

Patient mobility is a key issue in the EU which recently passed a new law on a patient's right to EU-wide provider choice. In this paper we use a Hotelling model with two regions that differ in technology to study the impact of patient mobility on health care quality, health care financing and...

In this model we use delay as a tool to reduce demand in a public health care system when the public resources are not sufficient to match demand. Our results show that: 1) the presence of a waiting time implies that politicians might well exploit voters’ unease in order to set rent seeking...