In this paper we concentrate on the question whether the financing structure of the health care systems converges. In a world of increasing economic integration convergence in health care financing (HCF) and, hence, decreasing differences in HCF across countries enhance individuals (labour)...

Social protection, especially health care systems for the poor, is essential to reduce inequality. Health-related shocks, such as death or severe sickness, can affect households' budgets significantly and create serious household trauma, leading to higher possibilities of them falling into...

Most systems of health care financing in EU member states currently include elements of income redistribution. The paper analyzes the effects of shifting this kind of redistribution to the tax system and argues that this reform could create two types of efficiency gains. On the expenditure side,...

In 2018, the Inter-American Development Bank and the OECD launched a survey to collect information on key health systems characteristics in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. This paper presents the information provided by 21 of these countries. It describes country-specific...

The Philippines has been experiencing unprecedented economic growth in recent years. This has fueled greater consumption among households, and greater support for the expansion of government entitlements, particularly on health and education. Behind these developments, however, is the fact that...