Consolidations and closures: an empirical analysis of exits from the hospital industry
研究了医院合并、收购和关闭前的特征，发现生产率低下是关闭的主要决定因素，而竞争压力对合并决策影响更大。
This paper investigates the pre-exit characteristics of hospital mergers, acquisitions, and closures. We estimate competing risk hazard models using an 18-year national data set that spans the wave of closures in the 1980s and of mergers in the 1990s. Evidence shows that weak productivity of the hospital is a strong determinant for closures while competitive pressures are more influential in the decision to consolidate. Thus, increased market power, relative to cost reductions, appears to play a larger role in the merger decision. Our results also provide insight into possible correlations between mergers and closures.