similar definitions of the concept but explore differing and complementary approaches towards its regulation.Fixed price … competition between hospitals, as implemented by a prospective payment system, should lead to an improvement of care quality … available to potential patients. We estimate changes in hospital demand caused by ranking lists on a panel of hospitals located …

This paper provides a model of hospital competition to explain the "medical arms race", i.e. the tendency of hospitals … to over-invest in specialized services. The model examines how hospitals gain an edge ("prestige effect") by adopting a …

selects four important new reform arrangements: autonomous hospitals; user fees; contracting out; and regulation or enablement …