Can Hospital Waiting Times Be Reduced by Being Published?

ANU Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics No. 614

43 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2014

See all articles by Yijuan Chen

Yijuan Chen

Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Economics

Juergen Meinecke

Australian National University (ANU)

Peter Mathew Sivey

La Trobe University - Faculty of Business, Economics and Law; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) - School of Economics, Finance and Marketing; University of Melbourne - Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research

Date Written: December 1, 2013

Abstract

We develop a signalling-game theoretical model to study a policy that publicly reports hospital waiting times. We characterize two effects of such a policy: the "competition effect" that drives hospitals to compete for patients by increasing service rates and reducing waiting times, and the "signalling effect" that allows patients to distinguish a high-quality hospital from a low-quality one. While both effects help reduce the waiting time of the low-quality hospital, they act in opposite directions for the high-quality hospital’s waiting time. We show that the competition effect on the high-quality hospital will outweigh the signalling effect, and consequently both hospitals’ waiting times will be reduced after the policy.

Empirically, we suggest how to exploit the timing in implementing the policy, and provide a set of hypothesis tests for the presence of competition effect, signalling effect, and the policy's overall effect on waiting times.

Keywords: Hospital Waiting Times, Report Cards, Signalling Game

JEL Classification: I18, D82

Suggested Citation

Chen, Yijuan and Meinecke, Juergen and Sivey, Peter Mathew and Sivey, Peter Mathew, Can Hospital Waiting Times Be Reduced by Being Published? (December 1, 2013). ANU Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics No. 614, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2387309 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2387309

Yijuan Chen (Contact Author)

Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Economics ( email )

Canberra
Australia

Juergen Meinecke

Australian National University (ANU) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Australia

Peter Mathew Sivey

La Trobe University - Faculty of Business, Economics and Law ( email )

Victoria 3552, 3086
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.petersivey.com

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) - School of Economics, Finance and Marketing ( email )

Level 10, Building 80
445 Swanston Street
Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Australia

University of Melbourne - Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research ( email )

Level 5, FBE Building, 111 Barry Street
Parkville, Victoria 3010
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/people/psivey/home.html

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