The general consensus among health economists is that the increasing capability of medical providers-often called medical "technology"-is responsible for the majority of growth in medical expenditure. And yet, the principle means of understanding medical technology is through the use of total...

Using data on all bariatric surgeries performed in the state of Pennsylvania from 1995 through 2007, this paper uses logistic and OLS regressions to measure the effect of star physicians and star hospitals on the diffusion of an innovation in bariatric surgery called laparoscopic gastric bypass...