Health policy reforms in a number of countries seek to improve provider quality by sharpening the incentives they face, for example by exposing them to greater competition. For this to succeed, patients must be responsive to quality in their choice of provider. This paper uses data from Cyprus...

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...

The private sector is an important supplier of public health products (PHPs) in developing countries. Although there are concerns about the quality and affordability of these products, private providers also offer possibilities for expanding access to key commodities. This paper proposes a...

The Bamako Initiative, a controversial attempt to strengthen Primary Health Care using community financing and community participation and management was launched at a meeting of African Ministers of Health in 1987. This evaluation focuses particularly on the community financing aspects of the...

As agents for their patients, providers often make treatment decisions on behalf of patients, and their choices can affect health outcomes. However, providers operate within a network of relationships and are agents not only for their patients, but also other health sector actors, such as their...

User fees have been promoted in low and middle income countries in response to scarce and inequitably distributed resources and are intended to generate revenue that can be used to improve health services. Experience indicates, however, that user fees are likely to result in deterioration of...

Objectives: To determine the extent that malaria treatment expenditures deplete household income and potentially lead to sacrificing of other basic household expenditures. Methods: The study was undertaken in six towns (3 urban and 3 rural) in southeast Nigeria. Pre-tested structured...